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FDA issues warning over online pharmacy extortion scam ====================================================== by Steve Ragan - Jan 4 2010, 17:50
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The occasional email offering one type of drug or another is a common sight and, despite the known risk of ordering knock-off drugs, people do it daily. Looking to double-dip into illegal profits, criminals are now posing as FDA agents and threatening those who ordered fake medicine with legal action unless fines are paid. FDA issues warning over online pharmacy extortion scam
FDA issues warning over online pharmacy extortion scam The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory just before the holiday weekend and said that, in most cases, people who have purchased medicines online or over the phone (through so-called 'telepharmacies') are later called by a person claiming to be an FDA agent.
This agent then strong-arms them with scare tactics about the illegality of their purchase, and threatens legal action unless a fine is paid. The fine will range from $100 USD to $250,000 USD, the FDA said, and in some cases people have had charges made to their credit cards to cover the penalties. Others are told to wire the payments to the Dominican Republic. If victims refuse to send the money, they are often threatened with a search of their property, arrest, deportation, physical harm, and/or incarceration. "Impersonating an FDA official is a violation of federal law," said Michael Chappell, the FDA's acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "The public should note that no FDA official will ever contact a consumer by phone demanding money or any other form of payment."
FDA special agents and other law enforcement officials are not authorized to impose or collect criminal fines; only a court can take such action, with fines payable to the U.S. Treasury. While the sale of fake or alternative medicines online is a known risk, people still buy the products and, as a result, the sites offering them appear all over the place. Just this past August, a report from LegitScript and KnujOn blasted Microsoft for allowing rogue pharmacies to participate in online advertising through Bing.
During research, 90 percent of the sites discovered on Bing were acting unlawfully in one way or another. Each of the illegal sites was tested, and controlled medicines were ordered without any need for a prescription. When the purchased medicines arrived, they were submitted for quality appraisal -- all were found to be counterfeit. Consuming counterfeit drugs is dangerous. Depending on what it is you are taking, such as fake heart medicine, it could ultimately lead to death, according to a medical professional consulted by The Tech Herald who asked to remain anonymous.
"Depending on the compounds used in the drug," the consultant explained, "it could have a reaction to another medicine you are taking. It could cause an allergic reaction in your body. It could cause any number of issues up to and including anaphylactic shock." In November, criminals using H1N1-related fear tactics started pushing fake Tamiflu online, causing people to pay large sums for medicine that did not work.
The FDA is encouraging anyone who has received a call from someone reporting to be an agent (or other law enforcement official demanding payment related to pharmaceutical purchases) to refuse payment and call the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office at (800) 521-5783. If you do need to order medicine online, talk to your doctor and get the address of a reputable and legal online pharmacy.
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