Perhaps unsurprisingly, similar scams are now incredibly prevalent within China, and since my message with Jin, I have spoken to several Chinese who have been scammed after searching for Paxlovid on social media. did
Liao, a Chinese woman from Shenzhen, was desperate when her 54-year-old father, who had a chronic illness, was hospitalized with COVID-19 on December 28 and nearly lost consciousness the next day. When her doctor suggested Pax Lovid but told her there was nothing left at her hospital, she posted on popular social media platform Xiaohongshu asking for help.
Soon people started messaging her, telling her they could sell her Paxlovid. One account claimed that she had the Pfizer version (as opposed to generic versions made in other countries) and could ship the drug the same day. We paid 3,600 yuan (about $530).
However, the promised medicine never arrived and the account she paid for was later deactivated. She reported it to the police, but was told it was unlikely she would get her money back.Luckily, Liao’s father stabilized and no longer needed her medicine.
Liao is not the only casualty. Another Hubei resident told me he met a scammer on Weibo and learned that he had scammed at least 30 people out of nearly $30,000. Victims have formed group chats to coordinate what they can do, and despite repeated reports, the scammer’s account remains active on Weibo. looking for a good target.
Even those who are lucky enough to find a non-scammer seller have to deal with other forms of deception, such as counterfeit drugs and theft (because the package bears the name of the drug). Some are also turning to generic alternatives to Paxlovid, such as Primobil and Paxista, made by Indian pharmaceutical companies and of questionable efficacy. Several labs in China have looked at samples of these generic drugs and found no active ingredients.
What made this fraud possible is a major challenge in accessing Paxlovid in the first place. Many Chinese people are scared and unsure, and some may be expecting too much from Pax Lovid. Most of them are ill-equipped with knowledge about who should take paxlovid or how to take it without risk, but they are trying to find something that helps.
Of course, this isn’t the first time scammers have taken advantage of desperate individuals. Online scammers are always ready to profit from fears and emergencies in China and elsewhere. However, questions remain as to whether social media platforms such as Twitter and Weibo are taking sufficient steps to curb such activity and regain user trust.
