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You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.

But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a similar ad on social media 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 nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.

The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.

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

With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” lower.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

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

Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.