This was the warning sent out in November by the FDA regarding a new online/phone scam going on. In the warning, they do not give any specific sites, but it just happened to me last week with www.pharmacy-leader.com. Here is an excerpt from the FDA's warning:

"If you’re shopping for medication on the Internet, you probably want to save money, not lose it. So if you get a call from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) busting you for an international purchase, just hang up. It seems that some drug counterfeiters and con artists are adding a new twist to one of their shenanigans. The FDA recently issued a warning about a fraudulent scheme to extort money from consumers by callers who falsely identify themselves as "FDA special agents" or other FDA officials.

The first part of the scam is fairly standard – a consumer receives a call offering to sell them discounted prescription drugs by wiring funds to locations in another country, but they never receive any medicines. But now, these criminals are calling back and falsely identify themselves as "FDA special agents" or other FDA officials to their customers. These counterfeit special agents tell the customer that he or she is facing incarceration or other legal action if they do not pay the “fine” of several thousand dollars.

The FDA says scam artists claiming to be “FDA special agents” have been phoning people and threatening them with prison if they don’t cough up a pile of cash, typically thousands of dollars. (Don’t be fooled if the phone number looks like the caller is in the United States—the FDA says the scammers are hiding the numbers by calling from cell phones or computers “ported” to other computers.) Reports to FDA describe all the callers as having Hispanic accents.

The targets are generally people who have already been the victims of credit card fraud, or who have order and/or purchased drugs on the Internet or over the phone. The FDA’s statement also includes a reminder “to purchase prescription drugs only from licensed pharmacies located in the United States.”

Everyone should be cautious when ordering medication off the Internet. But there’s one thing you shouldn’t worry about—the FDA knocking on your door.

“The public should note that no FDA official will ever contact a consumer by phone demanding money or any other form of payment, ” Michael Chappell, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, said in a statement."

I never, ever thought that I would be taken by a scam like this; but it happened and it was terrifying. I do not consider myself a victim; as I had several opportunities to say "no"; and I also should have known better and used some common sense! The reason for this post is because I want to get the word out in hopes of saving others from losing their money and their peace of mind. I am going to post the actual incident that happened to me too because; as embarrassed as I am about being fooled by something like this, I feel like it is very important to let others know about the FDA's warning first and foremost.