Fraudsters' Counterfeit Goods 'Could Cause Serious Damage'

You've come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to go for it.

The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.

Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.

These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.