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You've come across so much regarding the use of 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.

But it seems alternatives exist instead of obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. A text message comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.

The catch is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you spent. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.

The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has resulted in a rise in counterfeit products entering circulation and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.

Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or via digital platforms, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke 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 total sum stolen through scams related to weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, reports indicate.

“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with such frauds soaring in recent months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

The majority occur on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, an account may mimic the company that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or logos.

These communications or posts will frequently use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.

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

“Buying from unapproved vendors online can come at a serious financial, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.

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

Health regulators have warned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they can present serious risks to wellbeing.

Criminals can expend considerable effort to design their webpage or online profile appear completely genuine. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.