Doctors Warn Against Online Medicine Scam Targeting Patients Using Ai
img_tag = ("Kenyan doctors are sounding the alarm over a dangerous new scam where fraudsters use artificial intelligence to pose as medical professionals and sell fake medicines online, putting thousands of lives at risk.
The warning comes after the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) flagged a counterfeit batch of Phesgo, an expensive cancer drug, circulating in the Kenyan market. Medical professionals say scammers are now using AI-powered chatbots and fake doctor profiles on social media to convince desperate patients to buy these dangerous knockoffs through M-Pesa and other digital payment platforms.
Dr. Sarah Kiprotich from Kenyatta National Hospital explains that these criminals specifically target cancer patients and families struggling with costly treatments. "They promise the same drugs at half the price, complete with fake prescriptions and medical advice generated by AI," she reveals. The scammers often approach patients in Facebook groups and WhatsApp chats where people share their medical struggles.
What makes this scam particularly deadly is how sophisticated it has become. The fake doctors sound convincing, using medical terminology and patient histories scraped from online forums. They even create fake pharmacy websites with Kenyan addresses, usually claiming to be located in Nairobi's CBD or major towns like Mombasa and Kisumu.
The PPB warns that counterfeit Phesgo contains no active ingredients, meaning cancer patients who rely on it face rapid disease progression. Similar fake versions of diabetes, hypertension, and HIV medications are also flooding the market. A genuine Phesgo injection costs over Ksh 200,000, making families vulnerable to cheaper alternatives that promise the same results.
Counties like Machakos and Nakuru have already reported cases of patients deteriorating after using suspected counterfeit medicines purchased online. The drugs often arrive through courier services or even matatu routes, making them harder to trace.
This crisis exposes how digital payments meant to make healthcare more accessible are being weaponized against the very people they should protect. Will the government move fast enough to shut down these online medicine cartels before more Kenyans fall victim?