Fraudsters' Counterfeit Goods 'Could Cause Real Harm'
You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, 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 no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
