It is a first place that France would have gone well. According to Avast’s latest research, a brand of the Cybersecurity Gen group, hexagon has become the number one target of a large international criminal network of fraudulent pharmacies. This phenomenon, which researchers have appointed Pharmafraud, relies on more than 5,000 websites imitating pharmacies to trap Internet users.
The objective of these crooks is twofold: selling counterfeit or unregulated drugs, but above all, harvesting the personal, medical and banking data of the victims.
Highly sought -after treatments to bait the victims
The survey, detailed in the latest Gen report, reveals that these platforms target particularly sought -after treatments online. The fraudulent offer analyzed consists mainly of:
- Erection disorders treatments like viagra or cialis (41 % of the offer analyzed).
- Obesity drugssometimes diverted from their use, such as Rybelsus, metformin or false versions of the Ozempic.
- Antibiotics, steroids, hormones and fertility treatments Sold without any medical supervision.
Taking advantage of stock -up breaks in pharmacies, price increase or simply the discomfort of patients to approach certain subjects, these fraudulent sites attract the barge with low prices and a promise of discretion. Behind a neat appearance, copying real merchant sites, hides a sophisticated scam. In total, Gen blocked a million attempts to attack this type in 2025.
The risk is not only financial. “It is a real risk to public health”alerts the report, pointing to “Ineffective drugs, side effects, contaminated substances”.
AI, the new cybercrime engine
This explosion of the Pharmafraud is part of a substantive trend: the growing use of artificial intelligence by cybercriminals to make their attacks faster, more credible and more difficult to detect.
“Cybermenaces are becoming more and more intelligent, fast and targeted”confirms Siggi Stefnisson, technical director of cybersecurity at Gen. He adds: “From ransomware generated by AI to false online pharmacies, the risks are very real and increasingly difficult to detect for users”.
Gen’s report reveals other alarming figures for the last quarter:
- THE financial scams jumped 340 %especially via Facebook advertisements using videos deepfake To deceive users
- THE data violations increased by 21 %.
- THE malicious push notificationsdisguised as system alerts, exploded +317 %.
- Cases of Sextoming dubbed.
Faced with this growing threat, experts call for the greatest caution, especially in the face of overly attractive prices or sites requiring personal or financial information abusive.
How to recognize a fraudulent site?
Faced with the sophistication of these scams, several indices must immediately alert you:
- Abnormally low prices for prescription drugs.
- The absence of clear contact contact details or physical address.
- Payment requests by unusual means such as cryptocurrencies.
- A payment process that does not seem secure (absence of the padlock or “https”).
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