Fraudsters have become more likely to offer fake prescriptions and certificates to Russians.

In the five and a half months of 2025, the number of fraudulent advertisements for the sale of medical certificates and prescriptions increased 1.5 times compared to the same period last year. The total number was about 11.3 thousand, Izvestia calculated, analyzing information in messengers and the darknet.

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Currently, there are more than 130 resources and channels specializing in the sale of supposedly real medical certificates and prescriptions. In total, about 5,000 people have subscribed to them, while some accounts are invalid.

Most often, customers write in the comments that after transferring money for the service, they are simply blocked or given documents, but they turn out to be fake.

The increase in offers from fraudsters is explained by the tightening of control by the authorities over the circulation of medical documentation, lawyer Stanislav Drobotov believes. In particular, this applies to medical prescriptions.

"There has always been a demand for such services. The documents are usually ordered by drug addicts from pharmacy medicines. Demand generates supply. However, this practice has been suppressed more and more harshly in recent years," he explained.

The issuance of medical certificates has not become more strictly regulated by law, but the demand for their purchase has been steadily growing over the past five years, the source of Izvestia associated with the darknet added.

"People don't want to worry about getting certificates for work, driving and other needs. Therefore, the offers of such services have always been in demand. Against the background of the suppression of the sale of prescriptions, many sellers have become more active in promoting offers for the sale of other medical documents," he said.

According to him, advertisements for the sale of fake certificates and prescriptions can bring one resource up to a million rubles per month.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Money in the form: the number of fake recipe offers increased 1.5 times