How scammers use fake health endorsements to peddle their wares

Fraudsters based overseas are using trusted British medical endorsements to peddle dodgy products on social media, Which? warns.

According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which regulates advertising in the UK, ads for weight-loss treatments that refer to the NHS, GPs and/or doctors can lead to greater levels of trust.

Under ASA rules, an advert must not display a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without the necessary authorisation. Adverts can't falsely claim that the product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by any public or private body. 

However, we found plenty of ads on Facebook and Instagram doing just that. And right now, not a lot is being done to stop them.

Fake health endorsements 

We found eleven adverts from a Hong Kong-based advertiser promoting a dental product it claimed would help with loose teeth, gum swelling, tooth pain and bad breath.

The product was advertised as being endorsed by the British Dental Association (BDA). 

When we contacted the BDA, it said it has seen repeated attempts to market often dangerous products using its name and has found no meaningful route to take these down.

According to Meta's ad library estimates, more than a million Meta profiles saw the adverts at least once between 14 and 29 September.

Another advertiser based in Hong Kong and the US published an advert for a weight-loss product that used logos from Boots and Guy's and St Thomas’.

At the time of writing, this advert had been viewed more than 9,000 times. Boots confirmed this advert isn’t genuine and said it regularly flags scam posts to social media platforms.

We also found an advertiser promoting an asthma spray claimed to help with persistent coughs, shortness of breath, chest tightness and mucus, which used endorsements from Asthma + Lung UK experts. It also claimed to be verified by the UKCA (United Kingdom Conformity Assessed), which certifies that goods sold in Great Britain meet local safety, health and environmental rules.

The advertisers behind the ad are based in Hong Kong, Bangladesh and the US. At the time of writing, the advertiser had published five adverts that amassed an estimated 100,000+ views between 13 May and 29 September, according to Meta's ad library. 

Asthma + Lung UK confirmed that it wasn’t associated with this ad.

Who will stop these ads?

Right now, no one is stopping them, and it can't fall upon Which? to raise the alarm on these dodgy ads. 

Under the Online Safety Act (OSA), there are rules around scam advertising. According to the regulator Ofcom, which is responsible for enforcing these rules, claims that medical products are approved or legal to be sold in the UK without a prescription are a common example of fraud by false representation. These types of ads will likely be considered illegal content once the fraudulent advertising duty is in place.

However, the rules on scam advertising haven't yet come into force.

We shared these scam ads with Meta, which told us it removed the ads brought to its attention for violating its policies.

It also said that malicious groups which create adverts are constantly evolving their techniques to evade detection and that there may be cases that will require time to address, some instances that it may miss, or take down in error.

We also contacted the ASA about these ads. It told us they appear to be scam ads and would therefore be dealt with through its scam ad alert system, rather than its traditional complaints and investigations route. It said that this is because it regulates advertising by legitimate businesses and is not the appropriate body to investigate or take action against advertising by criminal actors. 

Through its ad alert system, it alerts the relevant platforms and organisations so they can take action.