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You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is expense.

Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no need to navigate official channels. And you saw a similar ad on online platforms the other day, prompting you to take the plunge.

The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods entering circulation and deceptive practices established to simply take consumers' cash.

Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, stating they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams related to weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, 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 often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.

“Buying from unverified sellers online can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage holds true: if it appears too good to be true, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is correctly licensed.