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You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.

But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, stating they might include “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

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

How It Appears

The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.

The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.