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You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. 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 scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice 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”.

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

“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths 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, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.