Scammers' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through 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 almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.
Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
