Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a warning about a scam that is targeting pharmacists in different regions of the United States. In a recent case, a pharmacist received a phone call from an individual who claimed to be from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and told the pharmacist that their license was currently under investigation. According to DEA, the scammer warned the pharmacist to not let anyone know about the call and to leave the pharmacy saying they had an urgent family matter, so they could go to the post office to receive faxed details of the FBI investigation. The scammer told the pharmacist that they were being watched and to remain on the phone until receiving the documents at the post office. The pharmacist was also directed to send $18,000 to the scammer.
The above-mentioned scam is just one version of a much broader scam targeting health care providers. Scammers are also claiming to be board of pharmacy investigators in order to obtain sensitive personal information and money over the phone.
DEA warns pharmacists and other health care providers to be alert, and that scams can appear in many different forms. Always report anything suspicious to DEA or the FBI.