Fraudsters' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.
Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or logos.
The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are properly registered.
