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Deepfakes recreate websites, branding, social media activity, reviews, audio and video. For pharmacy owners, this creates risks that go well beyond financial loss, as Richard Hough and Thorrun Govind explain…

Online pharmacies are now a core component of modern healthcare delivery, offering convenience, access and continuity for patients across the UK.

Yet the same digital infrastructure that enables legitimate pharmacy services is increasingly being exploited by criminals who are using deepfake technology and AI‑generated content to clone genuine pharmacy businesses with alarming realism.

These scams directly threaten patient safety, undermine professional trust and expose pharmacies to regulatory, financial and reputational harm even when they have done nothing wrong.

Why online pharmacies are particularly exposed

Distance selling pharmacies operate in an environment which is characterised by high volumes of digital transactions, remote identity verification, social media marketing and rapid turnaround content. Criminals are exploiting these features to impersonate legitimate pharmacies at scale.

Near‑identical cloned websites can be created using copied GPhC registration numbers, regulator logos, trust marks and pharmacy branding which has been scraped from genuine sites. These are often supported by AI‑generated customer reviews and paid online adverts that mirror legitimate pharmacy campaigns.

More recently, deepfake audio and video have added an additional layer of sophistication to such scams. Synthetic voice calls or videos can impersonate pharmacists or pharmacy staff, reassuring patients that a service is genuine and encouraging them to submit identity documents, complete consultations or make payments.

In some cases, real pharmacy health advice videos are repurposed to promote illicit medicines, giving scams a veneer of professional credibility.

For patients, especially those seeking urgent treatment or discreet services, the distinction between a regulated pharmacy and a convincing fake has become increasingly difficult to identify.

Evidence from the pharmacy sector

Recent survey evidence demonstrates that this is not a theoretical risk. The National Pharmacy Association surveyed 100 distance-selling pharmacies between 26 March and 6 April 2026, with the results published on 16 April 2026.

Respondents reported criminal activity including copying regulator logos and trust symbols, as well as repurposing pharmacies’ social media health advice videos to market and sell illicit medicines.

Fraudulent sellers were found to be particularly focused on weight loss medicines. Two in five online pharmacies that were surveyed said that they had encountered patients who had unwittingly purchased weight loss medication from unregulated providers in the past year after being misled by cloned or lookalike pharmacy content.

Such cases raise serious concerns around patient harm, product quality, inappropriate prescribing and the absence of clinical oversight, particularly in therapeutic areas where demand is high and public awareness is evolving rapidly.

Patient safety, data protection and regulatory risk

Unlike traditional retail fraud, pharmacy cloning directly endangers the health of patients. Individuals may disclose highly sensitive personal and health data believing that they are dealing with a legitimate UK registered pharmacy or receive counterfeit or unsuitable medicines.

Cloning often involves misuse of facial images or voice patterns, engaging biometric data protections under UK GDPR.

Even where a pharmacy has not created or authorised deepfake content, misuse of its identity can still result in complaints, ICO scrutiny or GPhC investigations, alongside operational and emotional strain for pharmacy teams responding to affected patients.

Protecting trust in a digital pharmacy environment

Deepfake pharmacy cloning is no longer a future concern. Pharmacy owners should actively monitor their digital footprint, including search results, paid advertisements and social media platforms, and communicate clearly with patients about official websites and contact channels.

Marketing and influencer agreements should expressly address AI‑generated and synthetic content, and staff should be trained to recognise impersonation risks and escalate concerns promptly.

As identity fraud becomes more sophisticated, authentication processes that do not rely solely on voice or visual cues are increasingly important.

As digital pharmacy continues to grow, safeguarding online authenticity is becoming a core patient safety responsibility. Understanding and responding to deepfake risks will be critical to protecting patients, professional integrity and long‑term trust in pharmacy services.

Richard Hough is a partner and head of healthcare at Brabners and a former pharmacist. His co-author Thorrun Govind is a pharmacist and solicitor at Brabners.