Scammers' Fake Products 'Could Cause Serious Damage'
You have come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients 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 set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.
