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You have heard and read a great deal about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel it is time to try them out in the run-up to the festive season. However, the issue lies in cost.

Yet it appears there are other options instead of getting a prescription and going to the pharmacy. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a site with much cheaper medication – 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 these ads are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The popularity of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, saying they could contain “toxins and other ingredients that could cause genuine injury”.

New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the fraud. According to the bank, the amount of money lost to fraudulent activities related to slimming jabs, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was over twice the total sum lost in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.

How It Appears

The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but you'll often notice subtle differences in text or brand marks.

The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “complimentary gift”.

As the price of some legitimate weight loss jabs, has increased recently, the scammers will price their “item” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” warns the security specialist.

Recommended Actions

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

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must solely be acquired from a licensed chemist using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.

Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an online pharmacy located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.