Avoid #covidscams - A Partnership for Safe Medicines Public Education Campaign
Avoid #COVIDScams and Counterfeiters: Tips to Purchase Medicine Safely
Ask your pharmacist about how much medicine you should buy: hoarding can create unnecessary shortages.
If you are experiencing hardship contact NeedyMeds, RX Outreach and Medicine Assistance Tool to find patient assistance programs to help you afford your medicines.
If you are buying over the counter or prescription medicine online, buy from a .pharmacy pharmacy. Pharmacies in other countries are not safe, even if they "look safe" to you.
Download our guide, AVOID SCAMS & COUNTERFEITS: Quick Tips to Safely Purchase Medicines Online (in English | en Español) to learn more.
Report suspected fraud to the FDA’s Health Fraud Program or the Office of Criminal Investigations at FDA-COVID-19-Fraudulent-Adopt this campaign and help spread the word!
Post our one pager to your website and to social media. Use the hashtag #covidscams to help raise awareness of criminals using the crisis to prey on people. Drop us a note at editors@safemedicines.org to let us know you're helping! Click here for sample tweets.
#covidscam News
Download our guide, AVOID SCAMS & COUNTERFEITS: Quick Tips to Safely Purchase Medicines Online (in English | en Español) to learn more about how to protect yourself and your loved ones from fake COVID-19 treatments.
In this edition: Rise of Fake ‘Corona Cures’ Revealed in Global Counterfeit Medicine Operation, Fake ‘COVID-19 Testing Kits’ Across North America, FDA Letter: Do Not Use Chloroquine Phosphate Intended for Fish as Treatment for COVID-19, and L.A. Warns of Coronavirus Consumer Issues.
Operation Pangea found more than 34,000 bogus surgical masks among the 4.4 million illicit pharmaceuticals and 37,000 counterfeit medical devices seized during their seven-day global effort to target counterfeit drug crime. In Los Angeles, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized counterfeit coronavirus test kits. #covidscams are on the rise.
According to the LA City Attorney’s Office, they have taken action to remove Internet ads that made false claims about COVID-19 prevention and treatment. The Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission have already issued a warning that there are currently no vaccines or drugs approved to treat COVID-19.
“What we don’t need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims. These warning letters are just the first step. We’re prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam.”
Follow our coverage of dangerous importation experiments
Read more about the dangerous new regulations in the HHS announcement.
Operation Pangea found more than 34,000 bogus surgical masks among the 4.4 million illicit pharmaceuticals and 37,000 counterfeit medical devices seized during their seven-day global effort to target counterfeit drug crime. In Los Angeles, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized counterfeit coronavirus test kits. #covidscams are on the rise.
The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has recently become aware that some consumers may mistake chloroquine phosphate used to treat disease in aquarium fish for FDA-approved drugs (used to treat malaria and certain other conditions in humans) that are being studied as a COVID-19 treatment for humans. Unfortunately, we have learned that one person in the United States has died after he and his wife reportedly took chloroquine used to treat their fish in an attempt to prevent COVID-19; his wife also became very ill. We are continuing to investigate this incident.
According to the LA City Attorney’s Office, they have taken action to remove Internet ads that made false claims about COVID-19 prevention and treatment. The Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission have already issued a warning that there are currently no vaccines or drugs approved to treat COVID-19.
For 78 days, the Department of Health and Human Services accepted public comment on the proposed rulemaking that would allow states to establish drug importation programs, individuals and organizations submitted 1,210 comments, and PSM read each of them. Here are what we feel are the most important takeaways…
“What we don’t need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims. These warning letters are just the first step. We’re prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam.”
Each year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration pools the knowledge of law enforcement agencies around the country to produce its National Drug Threat Assessment. This year, fentanyl, counterfeit prescription pills, and the pill presses are all listed as things that will continue to endanger American lives…