Telehealth Platform Impersonating Legitimate Hospitals and Charging Exorbitant Consultation Fees - Deceiving Patients for Financial Gain

Who Gets Targeted

Primary victims include middle-aged and elderly individuals lacking access to in-person medical care, chronic disease patients, and urban white-collar workers with misconceptions about premium healthcare services. Eager to seek treatment, trusting of online "doctors," and lacking judgment regarding costs, they are easily blinded by hospital logos, doctor profile pictures, and so-called national practice certificates, leading to the impulse to pay high consultation fees. Many such platforms package ordinary foods and solid beverages as "medicinal and edible homology" products and sell them at exorbitant prices. Victims are mostly patients looking to condition their bodies who fall prey to "unscrupulous practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine," spending thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan per treatment course (media estimates without independent verification). One complainant reported a cumulative payment of 37,000 yuan (victim's self-reported account without independent verification). Ultimately, they neither receive effective treatment nor manage to recover their losses due to dead links and unresponsive customer service.

骗局怎么运作

• The platform first sets up an official-looking website or app disguised as a legitimate hospital, using real hospital logos, campus photos, and actor-worn medical ID badges, or displaying fake practice certificates purchased online to manufacture credibility.
• It distributes exaggerated treatment case videos via social media platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Moments, inviting "renowned doctors" to conduct live-streaming consultations, inducing viewers to leave contact information in the comment section, and claiming to provide "one-on-one remote diagnosis and treatment" to spark potential patients' interest.
• Upon receiving patient information, platform customer service uses standardized scripts to claim that the patient has entered a "VIP Exclusive Channel," demanding an upfront payment of "registration fee + examination fee," typically ranging from 500 yuan to 3,000 yuan, and provides WeChat, Alipay, or overseas payment links to create a sense of urgency.
• After the patient pays, the platform arranges for a "remote doctor" to conduct so-called diagnosis and treatment via video or voice. The doctor often makes a diagnosis based solely on the patient's self-description, then issues electronic prescriptions or recommends high-priced health supplements and imported drugs, further guiding the patient to place an order within the platform and forming a secondary payment chain.
• After completing multiple rounds of fee collection, the platform uses threatening collection tactics based on the patient's anxiety over medical outcomes, even forging official examination reports or faking worsening conditions, coercing patients into continuing to pay exorbitant fees until victims discover that no legitimate medical care actually took place.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 The hospital name and logo used by the website or app do not match the list of hospitals published by the National Health Commission, and there is a lack of filing information with the National Medical Products Administration.
• 🚩 Doctor profile pictures are actors or models, the sources of practice certificates are questionable, and phrases like "buy certificate" or "get practice certificate for free" frequently appear at the bottom of web pages.
• 🚩 The platform requires a hefty upfront prepayment for registration or examination fees and only accepts private transfers and QR code payments, without providing formal invoices.
• 🚩 Case studies appearing in promotional videos lack signatures from real patients, most are performed by actors, and details do not match standard clinical records.
• 🚩 Platform customer service uses aggressive tactics such as limited-time discounts and critical medical conditions to create a sense of urgency, and refuses to provide official hospital contact numbers or physical addresses.

真实案例

• In August 2025, a fraudulent platform operating under the name of a "Grade III, Class A hospital in North China" charged an 800 yuan remote registration fee. Victim A did not receive any legitimate medical treatment after completing the payment on the platform, and an investigation by CCTV later confirmed that the platform used purchased hospital badges. (Source: CCTV.com, 2025-08-08)
• On July 9, 2026, Sina Finance disclosed that "Guyitang Health Consultants" packaged video consultations to charge users "health packages" exceeding 1,500 yuan, while actually providing only food-packaged health supplements. Victim B suffered a cumulative loss of approximately 30,000 yuan. (Source: Sina Finance, 2026-07-09)
• On April 7, 2024, Sichuan media reported that a remote platform disguised as a private hospital promoted "tailored remedies" via social media, charging a "customized prescription fee" of 3,000 yuan per person. Victim C received only ordinary cold medicine worth less than 100 yuan after making the payment. (Source: Xinhuanet, 2024-04-07)

Official Stance

• CCTV.com, August 8, 2025, published "Investigation into Fake Doctors Created by Fake Props and Certificates: Casual Buying and Selling of Hospital ID Badges" (Source: [https://jiankang.cctv.com/2025/08/08/ARTICQSw65lAIXsPydbl9Os8250807.shtml](https://jiankang.cctv.com/2025/08/08/ARTICQSw65lAIXsPydbl9Os8250807.shtml))
• General Office of the Cyberspace Administration of China, General Office of the National Health Commission, General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and General Office of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, August 1, 2025, issued the "Notice on Regulating Medical Science Popularization Behaviors of 'Self-Media'" (Source: [https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-08/01/c_1755764425442686.htm](https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-08/01/c_1755764425442686.htm))

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Log in to the official website of the National Health Commission or local health commissions before making an appointment to verify whether the hospital name, practice qualifications, and doctor practice license numbers are registered.
• ✅ Request the platform to provide a formal invoice and a copy of the Medical Institution Practicing License, and check whether the certificate number matches the public information of the Medical Products Administration.
• ✅ Exercise caution when using non-standard payment methods, prioritize medical insurance settlement or third-party payment platforms provided by the platform, and retain payment vouchers.
• ✅ If the platform demands advance payment and cannot provide an offline consultation address or physical registration voucher, immediately cease the transaction and report the case to local public security authorities.