Fraudsters' Counterfeit Goods 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
But it seems there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, stating they might include “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 scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
