Fake ads and counterfeit products are an unfortunately common occurrence on Facebook. However, these problems can become deadly when they involve prescription drugs. That’s why a pharmaceutical trade association called the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI) enlisted the help of an Israeli security company called BrandShields to fight back against these bogus drug ads.

According to the security company, their actions led to the removal of 7,500 dangerous fake drug ads on Facebook.

“Year after year, cybercriminals continue to target consumers using counterfeit listings of potentially life-saving medications,” said the company’s co-founder and CEO Yoav Keren. “Without adequate enforcement and proactive takedown efforts, fraudsters pose immense risks to public health.”

However, the security firm and pharma group both called for social media companies like Facebook to do more to proactively detect and remove these ads.

“The continued presence of illegal pharmaceutical sales on social media platforms and other websites underscores the need for ongoing vigilance and collaboration with key industry stakeholders,” PSI leader C. Todd Ratcliffe said.

Of course, Facebook has strong rules in place against the illegal sale of drugs on its platform. However, the company should do a better job enforcing them so that a private security company doesn’t have to do its dirty work for it.

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