Fraudsters' Fake Products 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.
But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
What it looks like
Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.
“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
