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You have heard and read 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. The problem is cost.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no need to go through official channels. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.

The catch is these ads are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a fake version, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate slimming drugs has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.

Health authorities have advised avoiding buying such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and additional components which may provoke real harm”.

New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was more than double the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in recent months,” notes a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

The majority take place on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.

These communications or updates will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

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

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a serious monetary, medical and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

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

Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.