Fraudsters' Fake Products 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims ÂŁ120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.
