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You have come across a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.

But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

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 purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through 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 clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

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

The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “product” lower.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.