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You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is cost.

But it seems there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and going to the chemist. An SMS comes through providing a URL to a website with much cheaper medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on social media recently, prompting you to go for it.

The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent no product and forfeit any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams set up to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have warned against purchasing these illegal weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank show a sharp rise in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, injector pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the previous three months. The average scam costs victims £120, it says.

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

How It Appears

Most take place on messaging apps and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the company that you are looking for, but you'll often notice subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

The messages or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” more cheaply.

“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

What to do

Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. They should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure this is correctly licensed.