Fraudsters' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
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 stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling 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 some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.