Here are just a few examples of complaints from consumers who lost money — and never received any medications — through online pharmacy rip-offs:

Ordering a prescription from overseas

Consumer looks for an online pharmacy to order prescription medication. The company looks like it is based in the United Kingdom. The payment instructions require money to be wired to the Ukraine “shipper.” The consumer wires the money and then receives an email notice that the medication was seized by Customs and Border Protection in Paris. The consumer was asked to provide an “Imports Drugs License” or pay the company’s agent additional money to facilitate obtaining a valid license from the French Ministry of Health.

Discount vitamins “held by customs”

Consumer responds to an unsolicited email from a company offering bulk-rate discounts on nutritional products, including vitamins. Consumer was asked to pay with a Walmart gift card. After payment was made, consumer was told the order was being held by customs and that an additional $400 was required to release the product for shipment. Consumer sent the additional money, but nothing was received. The company stopped responding to all communication. Consumer posed as a new customer to the same company and the company responded, eager to make another sale.

“Prescription certificates”

Consumer found a discount pharmacy online and was asked to send payment by Western Union to the Ukraine. After payment was made, consumer received an email stating that the delivery was being held “pending a valid drug prescription certification approval.” The company asked the consumer to pay a 96 percent refundable deposit fee of $250 to obtain the certificate. The $250 refund was promised after delivery of the medications. The refundable fee was requested to be paid by Western Union/MoneyGram/RIA/Bitcoin.

Legit-looking pharmacy requesting payment by gift card

Consumer ordered medication from online pharmacy which looked legitimate. A representative called consumer from the number listed on the website. Thirty emails were exchanged to conduct the purchase. First payment was made by a Google Play card. Consumer paid another $100 after a second call explaining a delay and ensuring a rush delivery. No product was shipped, and when consumer called, the company asked for another $100. When consumer canceled the transaction and asked for a refund, consumer received an email saying the order was canceled and the money had been donated to charity. The website was still operating when the consumer contacted Global Anti-fraud Hub.

Attempt to purchase meds discontinued in USA

Consumer attempted purchase from an online international pharmacy for a medication no longer available in the United States. The consumer had read good reviews online about the company. After making the order, the consumer received PayPal instructions (friend/family payment) with the money coming directly from the consumer’s bank account. No response for one week after payment. Finally responded that the shipment was delayed. After multiple emails and excuses from the seller, the consumer was asked for an additional 30 percent “fee” to ship the medication. PayPal was not able to refund the order, because it was a friend/family payment (not a business payment). The consumers bank has also not offered relief because it was not a charge to a debit or credit card. Two months passed and the consumer never received any product.

A mother, a Great Dane lover, and someone who sometimes fed the homeless in her community on Sundays, Ashley was taken from her family at age 32. According to news reports, police believe the pill was laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but can be up to 100 times more potent.

After Ashley’s death, the Grand Junction Police Department (GJPD) launched a public service announcement to warn the public of the presence of fentanyl-laced pills in the community. The danger posed by the rise of counterfeit drugs in the area was something everyone should be aware of, not just those misusing the drugs illegally.

“This is not something that is specific to drug-seekers or people that are routinely abusing prescriptions,” said Heidi Davidson, a GJPD spokesperson. “It makes it highly dangerous to anyone.”

GJPD warned that the pills infiltrating the community had the realistic-looking markings of prescription oxycodone pills but were, in fact, fentanyl—an extremely powerful opioid that can be lethal in a very small amount. Ashley’s mother, Andrea Thomas, lent her voice to what she saw as an extremely crucial public service campaign.

“On June 11, 2018, my phone rang at 7:24 am. The voice on the other line told me that my beautiful daughter, Ashley, was dead. Ashley had been given a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl. I was told by the coroner that she probably died instantly,” said Thomas, who, since her daughter’s death, co-founded Voices for Awareness Foundation to help shed light on issues pertaining to substance abuse, addiction, overdose, counterfeit drugs, and suicide. Thomas has become a crusader for warning the public about the threat of counterfeit drugs like the one that killed her daughter. She told an audience on Capitol Hill in September 2019 that 11 other people died from the same batch of counterfeit pills that killed Ashley.

“The deadly pill Ashley took looked just like her normal medication. This is an epidemic in our country that I previously knew nothing about. It is time to take action. The National Consumers League’s new resources for consumers will help spread awareness and will make a difference to many,” said Thomas. “If you do not know exactly what it is, do not take it.”

In a brutal month spanning March 23 to April 23 in 2016, 14 people in the Sacramento area died of suspected drug overdoses, and 38 others were poisoned. At first, authorities could only suspect “contaminated drugs.” A month later, testing showed that the culprit was counterfeit pills made with deadly fentanyl.

“I lost my son, himself a loving big brother and father of three beautiful children, in this deadly wave of tainted drugs in our area. It took one single pill to take Jerome away from us,” said Natasha Butler, whose 28-year-old son, Jerome Butler, was one of the victims of counterfeit drug deaths in Sacramento in 2016. “We had no idea that these dangerous drugs, made to look exactly like the real thing, were even out there.”

At the time of his death, Jerome was training to be a security guard. He was a devoted father to three children ages 10 and younger—a girl and two boys. Jerome was the seventh of the Sacramento-area victims.

According to local news reports, he took what he thought was a Norco pill from a trusted friend, who had taken the pills from his mother’s purse. After taking what turned out to actually be a fentanyl pill, he ended up in a coma with liver and kidney failure. His family had to make the tough decision to take him off of life support a few days later. Ultimately, charges were filed against a group of eight people for manufacturing the counterfeit Norco pills.

“Anyone who takes medication or fills prescriptions needs to be aware of the risks of counterfeits, and that where you get drugs is so crucial for your safety and health,” said Jerome’s mother Natasha, who has dedicated her life to opening others’ eyes to the risks of these drugs. “This is a real public safety issue. We have lost so many of our kids to this. All the parents that [have] lost their kids we have to stand together. We have to get it stopped.”