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You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.

Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.

“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

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

The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.

Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.