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You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.

Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.

Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they could contain “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. 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.

These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

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

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present significant dangers to health.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm this is correctly licensed.