Fake experts equal legitimate risk

A colleague of mine loves his cats. So, when he saw a social media post from a veterinarian warning that toxic mold in his cat’s water fountain might be poisoning them, he couldn’t resist clicking through to the full article.

The vet highlighted her credentials, stating that she had been in practice for nine years and saw 60 cats per month. She said she had two cats herself and showed pictures of pink toxic slime in several cat water fountains. Her conclusion was to buy her recommended “safe” fountain, with a link to purchase.

So, who is this vet? My colleague looked up the clinic in the city where it was supposedly located. He searched the vet’s name online, including on LinkedIn. 

Nobody by that name had a legitimate presence. The website disclosed no ownership or location, and the business wasn’t registered with the Secretary of State.

A reverse image search turned up the same product on Amazon for half the price, sold by a foreign-based seller.

At first, my colleague assumed this was affiliate marketing, and the vet was earning a commission, until he found, in the fine print, that the vet wasn’t real. She was a made-up persona built to make the product seem credible.

Why do we fall for these ads? In this case and many others, it’s fear. My colleague was scared he might be harming a beloved pet. The ad he saw offered pictures and videos that seemed to prove it, right before presenting the perfect solution. And the truth is, we trust experts.

This isn’t just sketchy, it’s deceptive advertising. 

Better Business Bureau’s Code of Advertising, rooted in federal and state advertising laws, warns that testimonials and endorsements can mislead when they aren’t genuine, don’t reflect the endorser’s real opinion, or when the endorser never actually used the product.

The problem isn’t simply that an ad uses artificial intelligence or a fictional spokesperson. The risk comes when marketing presents a fabricated or composite expert as though the person is real.

My colleague was lucky to find a hidden disclosure calling the vet a “composite character.” Most of these sites have no warning at all. And a disclaimer can’t contradict the ad itself.

You can’t advertise that a veterinarian is real and then quietly call her a composite character in the fine print.

These articles are often native advertising, made to look like research, an independent review, or editorial content. Even on social media, they should be clearly labeled as ads. 

BBB finds that trust-reliant fields like health, pet care, beauty, and supplements are where a fake expert most easily makes ordinary claims seem credible. 

So, what can you do? Do your homework before you buy. 

Search BBB.org or BBB.org/scamtracker to find verified complaints, reviews, and reports.