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You have come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.

Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms 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 nothing and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.

New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.

These communications or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.

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

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

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.

Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.