Across 5,413 analysed samples, 36% were counterfeit and 37% substandard: wrong amount, wrong compound, or nothing at all. Underdosed products waste months; overdosed or mislabelled ones cause side effects you cannot explain; unsterile ones cause abscesses. Labels, holograms and forum reputation prove little. Two things do: a trough testosterone at steady state for testosterone products, and an HPLC or GC-MS test of the product itself for anything else.
- Systematic review of 19 studies, 5,413 samples: 36% counterfeit, a further 37% substandard (2022).
- Brazilian federal police seizures: about 42% counterfeit overall, with 65% of oil solutions counterfeit versus 29% of tablets.
- Counterfeits ranged from no active ingredient to a different compound or a different amount; some contained more than labelled.
- For testosterone products, a trough blood test at steady state is the cheapest verification there is.
- For other compounds, only chromatography (HPLC, GC-MS) on the product tells you what and how much; batch lab reports are only as good as the lab and the chain of custody.
How bad it is
The 2022 systematic review pooled 19 analytical studies, 5,413 samples, mostly seized by authorities in Europe and the Americas. Counterfeit: 36%. Substandard (right compound, wrong amount): another 37%. Brazilian police seizures analysed by GC-MS: 42% counterfeit, and oil injectables were faked far more often than tablets. A French series found 80% non-original.
Take the label as a hypothesis.
What a bad product does
- Underdosed: months of exposure for a fraction of the result, and a wrong conclusion that “it doesn’t work for me”.
- Overdosed or wrong compound: side effects that do not match the plan, estrogen symptoms from something that should not aromatise, liver strain from a hidden oral.
- Contaminated or unsterile: infections and abscesses, the most common injection harm in surveys.
- Nothing in it: wasted money and a crashed axis for no return.
Red flags before use
| Sign | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| Cloudy oil, floating particles, crystals that do not dissolve on warming | contamination or wrong carrier |
| Colour or viscosity different from earlier batches of the same product | different source |
| Rubber stopper loose, cap seal damaged, label misaligned or spelling errors | repackaged or copied |
| Price far below the product’s usual | counterfeit or underdosed |
| Seller with new stock of a discontinued pharmaceutical line | copied packaging |
None of these prove anything either way. Good counterfeits pass all of them.
Red flags after use
- Nothing measurable after six weeks on a medium ester.
- Unusual pain, swelling, heat or fever after injection.
- Effects that contradict the compound’s pharmacology.
- Blood work that does not match: trough testosterone far below expectation, or liver markers rising on an “injectable only” plan.
The two ways to know
1. Your blood, for testosterone products. At steady state (four to six weeks on a medium ester), a morning trough total testosterone should sit where the weekly amount predicts. Far below means under-dosed or not testosterone. This costs one blood test and works for the compound most people use most.
2. A lab test of the product, for everything else. Chromatography (HPLC or GC-MS) identifies the compound and measures the amount. Independent labs in Europe and North America accept anonymous samples by post; harm-reduction drug-checking services in some countries test for free. Send a sample from the vial you will use, not a different vial from the same box. A report the seller provides tells you what the seller wants you to see; a report you commissioned tells you what is in your vial.
Reading a batch lab report
- Lab named, contactable, and independent of the seller.
- Method stated (HPLC-UV, GC-MS), with the amount found versus label as a percentage.
- Sample ID that you can match to a batch number, and a date.
- Absence of sterility or endotoxin testing does not mean sterile; chromatography tests content, not cleanliness.
Hygiene still applies
A verified product injected badly is still an abscess risk. Sterile technique handles the half of the problem the lab cannot.
Frequently asked questions
How common are fake steroids?
In the largest pooled analysis, roughly one in three products was counterfeit and another one in three was the right compound in the wrong amount. Oil-based injectables were faked more often than tablets in seizure data.
How do I know if my testosterone is real?
Blood. At steady state on a medium ester, a morning trough total testosterone that is far below what the weekly amount should produce means the product is under-dosed or not testosterone. It is the only verification that costs nothing extra.
What about other compounds?
Blood tests do not measure them. The product itself has to be tested: HPLC or GC-MS by an independent lab that accepts anonymous samples. Several exist in Europe and North America.
Do holograms and batch numbers mean anything?
Little. Counterfeiters copy packaging well. A manufacturer verification page that confirms a batch number confirms the number was printed, not what is in the vial. Lab reports attached to a batch are useful only if the lab is independent and the sample chain is credible.
What are the danger signs?
Cloudy oil, particles, colour different from previous batches, unusual pain or swelling after injection, a fever, or effects that do not match the label: strong estrogen symptoms from a compound that should not aromatise, or nothing at all after six weeks.
Sources
- Fake anabolic androgenic steroids on the black market: a systematic review and meta-analysis on qualitative and quantitative analytical results found within the literature. 2022.
- GC-MS quantitative analysis of black market pharmaceutical products containing anabolic androgenic steroids seized by the Brazilian Federal Police. Forensic Science International, 2017.
- A focused netnographic study exploring experiences associated with counterfeit and contaminated anabolic-androgenic steroids. Harm Reduction Journal, 2020.
- Hope VD et al. Injection site infections and injuries in men who inject image- and performance-enhancing drugs. Epidemiology and Infection, 2015.