Scammers' Fake Goods 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying 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 customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
