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You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.

Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable medication – and with no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on online platforms the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.

The catch is such promotions are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they could contain “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.

“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in text or brand marks.

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

As the price of certain authentic slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers online can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

As with all scams, the old adage applies: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose serious risks to health.

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 based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are properly registered.