Fraudsters' Counterfeit Products 'May Lead to Serious Damage'

You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL 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 the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.

The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause real harm”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.

The messages or posts will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.