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You've heard and read a great deal about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, you feel the moment has come to give it a go in the run-up to the holiday period. However, the issue lies in expense.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and going to the chemist. An SMS arrives giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be fraudulent schemes. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding buying such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they might include “toxins and other ingredients that could cause real harm”.

Recent statistics from a high street bank show a significant surge in the number of clients who have been impacted by the fraud. The bank says, the amount of money lost to scams related to slimming jabs, pens, tablets and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.

What it looks like

Most take place on messaging apps and social media. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in text or brand marks.

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

As the price of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose recently, the fraudsters will price their “item” more cheaply.

“Purchasing from unverified sellers on the internet can come at a serious financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.

Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a healthcare professional, they advise. If sourced elsewhere, they can present serious risks to health.

Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an online pharmacy based in the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.