Consumer champion Which? has warned social media users to watch out for health and beauty adverts which make false promises about their effectiveness or claim to be endorsed by medical bodies.

The comments follow an investigation on Facebook and Instagram by the consumer champion which found 12 sponsored adverts either making false medical claims, impersonating doctors, pretending to be endorsed by medical bodies or potentially not delivering the items they claim to sell, while still taking customers’ money.

These included an advert targeted at diabetics promoting a “world-first” non-invasive glucose-monitoring detox wristband - which the watchdog said is not a genuine product.

The organisation also found three adverts promoting a bee venom cream which falsely claimed it was developed by the Medical and Health care products Regulatory Agency and recommended by the British Association of Dermatologists and Allergy UK, who told Which? they were not associated with the product.

Two of the ads were posted from Facebook accounts impersonating Dr Emma Craythorne, a well-known dermatologist with over 150,000 Instagram followers.

Dr Craythorne is not associated with the ads and told Which? that the claims made by these adverts, such as that the cream could cure skin tags and remove wrinkles in one week, were “complete nonsense.”

“My team and I have sent Meta countless emails and it hasn’t taken them seriously,” she added. “These scams target the unwell and desperate, as well as those whose family members and friends are sick.”

While many of these ads were taken down by Meta, Which? said the Facebook profiles posting the ads remained live until it shared these profiles with Meta.

In response to the investigation, Meta said that it doesn’t allow fraudulent activity and works closely with law enforcement to support investigations and keep scammers off its platforms.

It told Which? that reviewing ads from millions of advertisers globally against its advertising standards is essential, but not without challenges, adding that people can report ads they believe violate its policies by clicking the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the ad.

Which? reached out to the profiles behind the ads at the time of its research but did not receive any replies prior to publication.

“While the Online Safety Act could mean action can be taken over some of these ads, platforms should not wait for these rules to come into effect - they should act now to block these ads appearing in the first place and stop the spread of misinformation,” said Lisa Webb, Which? consumer law expert. “In the meantime, consumers should be wary of sponsored ads for health and beauty products on social media and check to see if the company is legitimate before clicking on any links or sharing any personal details.”

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