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You have come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is expense.

Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to go for it.

The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.

Health authorities have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.

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

What it looks like

Most occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.

The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

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

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.