AI-generated profiles impersonate female urologists to market ED products online

Brittney Cotta, MD, is an assistant professor of urology and a urologic oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In early July, she learned her professional headshot had been stolen and turned into a network of fake social media profiles.

According to Cotta, a hospital police detective called her after a scammed individual contacted MD Anderson believing he had been treated by her. The profiles, built from her official faculty photo, present her as an erectile dysfunction specialist willing to discuss treatment over private message.

The pattern is now well documented across urology. Scammers copy a physician headshot from an institutional website, alter it with artificial intelligence (AI) tools, and pair it with a slightly changed name. Cotta has since found nearly identical fake profiles built around female urologists at the University of California, San Francisco, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, and Columbia University.

Laura Bukavina, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor of urologic oncology at the Cleveland Clinic Glickman Urologic Institute. She said she first discovered her own impersonator after a patient called her office describing care and adverse events tied to a “physician” (the impersonator) who was not actually treating them.

Bukavina reported the profile to Cleveland Clinic's police department. She said fake profiles generally keep the stolen photo but change the name. They skew toward sexual dysfunction and penile enlargement content, aimed at older men who may feel uncomfortable seeking a prescription through normal channels.

Communication typically moves to a private channel such as WhatsApp, and the schemes charge substantial sums for unregulated products.

From sales pitch to fabricated relationship

Once a target engages with a fake profile, the exchange often follows a script. The account asks about erection quality, penile shortening, and stamina, then recommends a paid supplement. One man who contacted Cotta's imposter spent roughly $300 on products before his wife discovered the charge and searched for the product online, which led the couple to report the scam to MD Anderson.

Some cases go further. Scammers using Cotta's likeness have sent AI-generated images depicting her in yoga clothing, exercising, and baking, building an illusion of an ongoing relationship.

One man believed he had been corresponding with Cotta for a month and was under the impression they were engaged. He sent flowers to MD Anderson, and Cotta's staff and hospital triage line have fielded repeated calls from people asking to reach her about conversations which never took place.

Cotta said the volume of activity has forced her to alert her clinical team directly. Colleagues and nursing staff were relaying messages from callers who believed they had spoken with her over a weekend she was not on call.

The challenge of removing fake profiles

Cotta told Urology Times that reporting the accounts through standard platform tools has produced little result. She said she has filed impersonation reports through Facebook's built-in reporting flow hundreds of times and typically receives a message stating the page does not violate community standards. A police detective working her case received the same response through law enforcement channels, and only one profile has been removed to date.

Cotta said she believes social platforms benefit from legal protections limiting their liability for content posted by users, which she sees as part of why enforcement has been so difficult. She said her understanding is such lawsuits succeed mainly in cases involving severe harms, rather than individual impersonation claims.²

Institutional legal teams have had some success removing content using a hospital name or logo directly. Cotta said new profiles reappear quickly under altered names, sometimes reduced to initials. This makes individual takedown efforts largely ineffective, she said.

"We don't have any recourse. We cannot get these pages removed, legally, either through law enforcement or institutional lawyers—and these are all major centers,” Cotta told Urology Times.

The American Medical Association has taken up the broader issue of AI-driven physician impersonation. It has proposed a policy framework recognizing a physician's name, image, likeness and voice as a protected right requiring informed consent before use.¹ Cotta said she hopes organized medicine can apply pressure on platforms such as Meta on behalf of physicians who lack the resources to fight the schemes individually.

"I think being aware it's happening and it's widespread, and just trying to create a bigger awareness around it, where it's not up to the individual," Cotta told Urology Times.

Bukavina's advice for colleagues facing similar impersonation is direct.

"Work with your institution if you have impersonators," she told Urology Times.

Cotta said the scam disproportionately affects women in urology, a specialty where female representation in leadership remains limited.

“I really hate that this is targeting female urologists in particular, and using our sexuality and femaleness as a catfishing and financial scheme,” she said.

She worries about the effect on trainees who already maintain a public professional photo through residency program websites. She said the time cost is real, describing hours lost to fielding scam-related calls during clinical and research work.

For urologists concerned their identity may already be in circulation, Cotta recommends periodically searching their own name alongside common terms scammers use. She also recommends asking institutional communications or legal teams whether a standing disclaimer can be added to official biography pages.

Cotta said MD Anderson is considering language clarifying a physician's official hospital profile is their only verified online presence. Practices should also brief front-desk and triage staff so incoming calls referencing unfamiliar online conversations are flagged early, rather than treated as routine scheduling requests.

Ultimately, Cotta said she hopes organizations like the AMA will apply pressure where individual physicians cannot.

REFERENCES

1. American Medical Association. AMA urges physician protections against AI deepfake impersonation. Published April 29, 2026. Accessed September 2, 2026. https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-urges-physician-protections-against-ai-deepfake-impersonation

2. Communications Decency Act of 1996, 47 USC Section 230.