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You have heard and read so much regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.

Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to merely steal people’s money.

Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Scammers are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says 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 logos.

The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

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

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, it likely isn't genuine.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.