Scammers' Counterfeit Goods 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You have 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 holiday period. The problem is cost.
But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause real harm”.
Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.
These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.
As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.
“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired 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 go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
