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You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to take the plunge.

The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

The widespread use of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to merely steal consumers' cash.

Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances 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 impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.

The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.

“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.