Fraudsters' Fake Products 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, 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 there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank show 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 weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.