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You have heard and read a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.

Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The problem is such promotions 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 receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The widespread use of legitimate slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take people’s money.

Health authorities have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or via social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been affected by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities involving weight loss injections, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

The majority occur on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.

The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “complimentary gift”.

As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant financial, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

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

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a healthcare professional, it says. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to health.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist based in Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are correctly licensed.