Several Facebook (FB) pages posted video advertisements for a pulse oximeter supposedly manufactured by St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC). These ads are fake.
Published from Sept. 6 to 26, the fake ads showed clips of a pulse oximeter with the logo of Omron Healthcare, a Japanese medical equipment manufacturer. A narrator claimed that the device has a “99.99%” accuracy rate, and described it as follows:
“This is the latest blood sugar, blood pressure and blood oxygen measurement device developed by St. Luke’s Medical Center. Just clip on your finger, it will measure your blood sugar, blood pressure and blood oxygen levels in three seconds.”
The posts’ captions carry links to dubious sites (ipratiques.store, specialsale33.click and grocerystore1806.online) where the public can supposedly buy the product at a discount.
These are fake ads from sources not affiliated with SLMC and Omron Healthcare.
On Sept. 20, SLMC’s official FB page released a statement disowning the ads.
“St. Luke’s Medical Center warns the public about counterfeit medical devices falsely marketed as our institution’s products on social media. We want to clarify that St. Luke’s does not manufacture or endorse these devices,” a part of their advisory read.
On July 29, Omron Healthcare‘s verified FB page warned netizens of counterfeit products. The photo of the fake product in their advisory matches the one sold in the fake ads.
In August, the Singapore General Hospital also flagged similar fraudulent ads that used its name to sell pulse oximeters. The clips featured in those ads were the same ones used in the fake ads that circulated in the Philippines.
Be cautious of fake ads that use namedrop medical companies and healthcare professionals to sell unregistered health products. Take a moment to check if they have actually endorsed the product you are about to buy.
Five copies of the fake ads posted by the newly created FB pages Health Tips for Filipino – (created on Sept. 25, 2024), 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 (Sept. 24, 2024), For The Health Of Filipinos (Sept. 6, 2024) and O.n.g’s Medical Center (Nov. 4, 2023) collectively garnered over 5,400 engagements.
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(Editor's Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
