Scammers' Counterfeit Goods 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You have heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
