Scammers' Fake Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number 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, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
