Fraudsters' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Real Harm'
You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, pills 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, reports indicate.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of 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, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.
