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You have come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.

The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.

“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or logos.

These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.

“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

What to do

As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.

Criminals 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 based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is properly registered.