Scammers' Counterfeit Products 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims ÂŁ120, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.
