Scammers' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.
