Fraudsters' Counterfeit Goods 'May Lead to Serious Damage'
You've come across so much regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.
But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take consumers' cash.
Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
Most take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
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 “product” more cheaply.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.