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You've heard and read so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.

Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to go for it.

The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.

Health authorities have advised avoiding buying these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.

“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

These communications or updates 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, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.

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

Recommended Actions

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

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued 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. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, you can check the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.