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You've come across a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in cost.

Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a site with more affordable drugs – and requiring no need to navigate official channels. 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 nothing and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients which may result in serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, fake pharmacy websites or through digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and additional components which may provoke genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank reveal a significant surge in the number of clients who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the previous three months. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

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

As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a significant monetary, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

Recommended Actions

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

Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.

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 internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is properly registered.