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You've heard and read a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The problem is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.

Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, tablets and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams soaring in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

How It Appears

Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice slight variations in spelling or logos.

These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.

“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a significant monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” warns the security specialist.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to health.

Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure they are correctly licensed.