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You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.

But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices set up to simply take people’s money.

Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few 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 mimic the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.

These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.