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You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.

The catch is these ads are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

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

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter , was more than double the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

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

With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “item” lower.

“Buying from unapproved vendors online can entail a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

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

Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.