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You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and forfeit whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have warned against buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating 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 quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

The majority occur on communication platforms and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

The messages or posts will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

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

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to health.

Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.