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You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.

New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

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

How It Appears

Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in text or logos.

The messages 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 of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.

“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.