Not in Australia at least. There were ads for flash in the pan fitness and weight loss devices and various other wastes of money, but outright scams and illegal devices would have their ads pulled real quick.

I think your answer gives us a clue about what went wrong and where.

The fact that internet advertising is run by the big US tech behemoths, makes them difficult to go after by countries that have previously had sane advertising standards. The lack of US regulation is the winning car in the race to the bottom.