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You have come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.

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

How It Appears

The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, 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”.

As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will price their “product” more cheaply.

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.

What to do

As with all scams, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.