Fraudsters' Counterfeit Products 'Could Cause Real Harm'
You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount 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 these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.
