Inside the Pharma Scam Playbook: How Fake Healthcare Brands Exploit Patients

During a recent investigation, we exposed a multi-platform scam network that impersonates healthcare providers to promote fake or non-existent health products. The findings were published in a New York Times article titled: The Doctors Are Real, but the Sales Pitches Are Frauds. The coordinated operation spans across social media, paid ads, and dedicated scam websites, putting patients’ safety and brand reputations at serious risk.

Using our AI-powered digital risk protection technology, BrandShield identified hundreds of suspicious domains, fake endorsements, and stolen identities tied to some of the world’s most respected healthcare organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, Mayo Clinic, and numerous individual doctors and healthcare professionals. According to the findings, these scam networks offered fake pharmaceutical products aimed at treating chronic conditions, including fake GLP-1 weight loss alternatives, arthritis creams, bronchitis inhalers, and glaucoma drops. Unlike online counterfeit sales of known brands of drugs, these scams use “brands” that are fake, do not exist, but claim to treat the same problems as real drugs.

“These scams are fast-moving, multi-layered, and powered by AI tools that have become more sophisticated every day,” said Yoav Keren, CEO and co-founder of BrandShield. “These scams do not target known drug brands, to avoid enforcement activities performed by pharmaceutical companies, but are using known medical organization names and known doctors to promote these fake drugs.”

Inside the Pharma Scam Playbook

BrandShield’s investigation reveals a consistent three-step method used to deceive patients and evade detection:

1. The Entry Point: It starts with a professional-looking Facebook ad appearing to come from a legitimate healthcare provider.
2. The Convincing Backstory: Ads frequently link to Facebook pages impersonating respected physicians alongside logos from organizations like the FDA or Mayo Clinic to imply endorsement. These profiles feature stolen headshots, real academic credentials, and a curated history of health-related posts, making them convincing. Many have thousands of followers and were created years ago for other scams, then repurposed.
3. The Final Trap: Clicking through leads to scam websites showcasing phony endorsements from health authorities, fake compliance seals, and AI-generated “before-and-after” images. These sites offer fake “branded” drugs from companies and brands that do not exist.

Investigations into site registration details uncovered repeated use of the same company names, email formats, and addresses tied to at least five shell companies registered in Hong Kong within a short time frame. These shell companies use virtual office addresses in districts notorious for low-cost business registrations, allowing the network to rapidly cycle and retire fake stores.

“If someone orders products from these scam websites, in most cases, they will lose their money, their financial information will be stolen, and they will not receive any product. At best, they receive ineffective products that fail to deliver promised medical benefits. If they do receive anything, these products could pose serious health risks. Consumers should be wary of any online ad promising “miracle” cures or using well-known doctors’ names unless it’s through official channels,” Keren continued.

Pharmaceutical Brand Protection is about more than safeguarding trademarks. It’s about protecting lives. Counterfeit medicines and rogue online pharmacies put patients at serious risk, while damaging brand trust and violating regulations.

To see the full breakdown of this operation and BrandShield’s recommendations for combating AI-powered healthcare scams, schedule a demo with us today.