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You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out ahead of the holiday period. The problem is cost.

Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable 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 catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.

New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.

These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.