An Israeli startup has exposed an international network of counterfeit legal and illegal pills including Viagra.
Using artificial intelligence, EverC, a firm that combats cyber-fraud, traced the trail of over 1,000 websites selling machines used to stamp the dose onto the fake pills on the black market in China. In addition to the fake erectile dysfunction pills, the network was producing faux ADHD medication and ecstasy.
“Bad actors use sophisticated methods to disguise themselves as they conduct illicit activity online, and it is our job to expose them and allow law enforcement to deal with them," CEO of EverC Ariel Tiger said.
Added Amit Kushmirak, senior manager at EverC: “A drug stamping machine costs $9,000 to $17,000 on the black market, but each of them generates huge profits for buyers thanks to the large volumes of counterfeiting criminals can produce by machine.”
Not only are the fake pills a violation of intellectual property laws, but they would likely endanger public health. EverC has alerted the FBI of their findings.
How common is counterfeit Viagra in Israel?
Authorities discovered back in 2013 an attempt to smuggle 700,000 counterfeit Viagra pills at the Ashdod Port.
The pills, which in total weighed half a ton and could have been sold illegally for NIS 20 million, were hidden in TV tables that a young Hebron resident had imported from China.
A report at the time said customs officials had intercepted the shipment, one of the largest hauls of illegal drugs they had ever caught.
A similar incident occurred also in Ashdod in 2016 when Customs Authority inspectors seized two million fake Viagra pills and 100 kilograms of anesthetics that could have been used to mix with hard drugs. They were worth a total of NIS 40 million on the black market.
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich contributed to this report.