Fraudsters' Fake Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.
These communications or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.
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 significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.
Recommended Actions
As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
