By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
December 30, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to be wary of criminals posing as FDA special agents and other law enforcement officials in an international scheme to extort money.
The criminals primarily target consumers who have purchased drugs on the Internet, the FDA said.
These international con artists call consumers and identify themselves as FDA special agents or personnel with such agencies as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Secret Service, or even a Dominican prosecutor. During the calls, the criminals tell consumers that buying drugs over the Internet or the telephone is illegal. The con artists then threaten that legal action will be taken unless consumers pay a fine or fee ranging from $100 to $250,000, the FDA said.
Criminals involved in this extortion scheme always request the funds be wired to a designated location, usually in the Dominican Republic, according to the FDA. Consumers who refuse to send the money are often threatened with a search of their property, arrest, deportation, physical harm, or incarceration, the FDA said.
In some cases, the criminals have fraudulently used consumers' credit cards, too.
"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 agents and other law enforcement officials are not authorized to impose or collect criminal fines, the agency said. Only a court can take such action and those fines are payable to the U.S. Treasury.
The FDA said consumers who receive a call from anyone claiming to be an FDA or other law enforcement official -- and demanding money to settle action for buying drugs over the Internet -- should contact its Office of Criminal Investigations. That number is (800) 521-5783.
The FDA also warned consumers to use caution when buying prescription drugs online or over the telephone. There is an increased risk that drugs purchased from Web sites operating outside the scope of the law could be unsafe and ineffective. Consumers' personal information could also be compromised during those transactions, the FDA said.
