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You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.

The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to simply take people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

Most take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.

These communications 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, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.

“Buying from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.