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You have come across so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.

The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. At worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.

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

New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.

These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.

“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the old adage holds true: 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 solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are properly registered.