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You have 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 festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with more affordable drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms recently, so you decide to go for it.

The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.

Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “toxins 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 impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may mimic the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.

These communications or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.

“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

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Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.

Criminals can go to great lengths 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 website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.