Scammers' Fake Goods 'Could Cause Real Harm'
You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam 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,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
