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You have come across so much about people using weight loss injections to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. The problem is cost.

Yet it appears alternatives exist rather than getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to go through official channels. You also noticed a similar ad on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose whatever money you paid. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients which may result in severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams established to merely steal people’s money.

Medical regulators have warned against purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke real harm”.

New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the total sum stolen through fraudulent activities related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products 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 deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with these scams soaring 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, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.

The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers will set the cost of their “product” lower.

“Buying from unverified sellers 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 old adage holds true: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an online pharmacy located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to ensure this is correctly licensed.