Fraudsters' Fake Products 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets 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, reports indicate.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.
