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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 ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.

But it seems alternatives exist rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the chemist. A text message comes through giving a link to a site with much cheaper drugs – and with no necessity to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a similar ad on social media the other day, prompting you to go for it.

The problem is these ads are almost certainly fraudulent schemes. In the best-case scenario, you'll receive no product and lose any funds you paid. At worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components that could lead to severe health problems.

The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a increase in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices established to simply take people’s money.

Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.

Recent statistics from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions between July and September this year, was over twice the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. The average scam sets back sufferers £120, it says.

“Scammers are deliberately targeting people’s insecurities and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.

What it looks like

Most occur on messaging apps and social networks. On socials, a profile may imitate the brand that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.

These communications or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “limited-time offer”, “exclusive deal” or “free giveaway”.

With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, rose of late, the scammers 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 fraud expert.

What to do

As with all scams, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.

Medical authorities have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications online. These products must only be obtained from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they can present significant dangers to wellbeing.

Fraudsters 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 based in the UK, it's possible to verify the online portal of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.