Scammers' Fake Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
