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You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you spent. 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 counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.

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

How It Appears

The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or logos.

These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” lower.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

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 only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters 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 pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.