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You've heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. 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 providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.

The problem is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.

The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products between July and September this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or brand marks.

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

With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.

“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a significant financial, health-related and emotional cost,” warns the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.

Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.