The owner of the channel uses the name of a legitimate US-based plastic surgeon who has around 50,000 followers on social media, and a photograph of another doctor.
The channels also claim to sell the drug ivermectin, which the US Food and Drug Administration said should not be used to treat or prevent Covid-19 in 2021.
One of the channels lists half a dozen different kinds of medicines it claims to be able to provide.
One claims it is selling weight loss drug Ozempic, while another tells people to not get a flu shot.
Herasimenka, who was not involved in the Logically research, says he has not seen doctors being impersonated on Telegram regularly, but that those behind misinformation and disinformation can use a variety of tactics.
He says misinformation efforts can often be run for political or social goals, while those using it to make money can be often overlooked.
There is no evidence indicating that the Telegram channels offer legitimate goods, and it isn't possible to verify whether anyone purchasing items from them receives anything.
One account, which claims it ordered a vaccine certificate and drugs to the US, shared a photo of the back of an envelope claiming they received their order.
Other posts use generic photos of drugs or vaccine certificates to claim items were delivered.
Proops says that while the documents the groups claim to be selling are not of much use now, the networks could be used in different ways in the future.
The continued use of the channels and spreading of anti-vaccination messages could also undermine trust in health systems around the world, Proops says.
Collins, the doctor who had her image stolen, says she is concerned that it will become easier for scammers or people looking to undermine health care professionals to do so as image generation with artificial intelligence becomes more available.
This Cyber News was published on www.wired.com. Publication date: Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:43:05 +0000