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You've come across a great deal regarding the use of weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to take the plunge.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal consumers' cash.

Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing these illegal slimming medications without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they might include “harmful substances and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a major retail bank reveal a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money stolen through fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products during the third quarter this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the previous three months. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

“Scammers are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

Most occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or logos.

The messages or updates will frequently use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

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

“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the fraud expert.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.

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