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 and Spanish) to learn more, and our #covidscams bookmark, which is a quick reference about five kinds of online crime that have spiked since the coronavirus emerged.

For up to to the minute news, track our coverage about the five types of COVID-19 scams.

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.

Tell Congress to kick COVID-19 scammers off the Internet!

Learn more and write congress on our TAKE ACTION page.

#covidscam News

August 9, 2021: Save Me Magnets!

August 9, 2021

There are a lot of ineffective and ridiculous #covidscams out in the world, but this particular scam the FDA found that offers to “cure” COVID-19 with magnets takes the cake. Watch “Save Me Magnets!” to learn about this and other harebrained scams. If you need protection from COVID-19, it’s FREE! Text your zip code to 438829 to find out the nearest place for you to get a free vaccine.

Pills in a blue bottle

Counterfeit Medicine News for the week of February 8, 2021

February 17, 2021

In this week’s news: More counterfeit masks, more fake medicine seizures, and a deadly new ingredient in pressed pills: clonazolam.

Counterfeit Medicine News for the week of January 18, 2021

January 25, 2021

In this week’s news: A Seattle man was arrested for COVID-vaccine fraud; sales of fake COVID-19 vaccines on the dark web up 400% since December; prosecutions of fake pill peddlers, and more.

Counterfeit Medicine News for the week of January 11, 2021

January 19, 2021

This week: A new report from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, COVID-19 vaccine fraud, a guilty plea in a fake online pharmacy case, counterfeit pill news, and more.

Counterfeit Medicine News, December 22, 2020 – January 8, 2021

January 11, 2021

PSM’s round-up this week closes out 2020 with hundreds of thousands of counterfeit surgical masks, scammers cashing in on COVID-19 vaccines with fake Eventbrite listings, fake cancer treatments, and more.