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You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.

Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.

The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing 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 increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.

Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they might include “toxins and additional components which may provoke real harm”.

New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

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

How It Appears

The majority take place on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.

As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

What to do

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

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.