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You have heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to get slim, it feels like it is time to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. A text message arrives giving a link to a website 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, prompting you to take the plunge.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you spent. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

New figures from a major retail bank show a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

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

What it looks like

Most occur on communication platforms and social media. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.

The messages or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of certain authentic slimming injections, has increased recently, the scammers will set the cost of their “item” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying holds true: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Health regulators have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.