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Telephone scammers posing as federal agents have threatened to extort thousands of dollars from Texans in Houston who use online pharmacies by claiming the customers are targets of a criminal investigation.
At least 30 people complaining of extortion attempts contacted the Houston office of the Drug Enforcement Administration last month, saying they had been called by people who said they were DEA agents. The so-called agents threatened customers with arrest unless they paid as much as $5,000 to offshore bank accounts in lieu of prosecution.
DEA agents both locally and nationwide are actively targeting pill mills and other illicit prescription drug dealers to stop rampant prescription drug abuse, but the victims in this case appear to be citizens who simply ordered drugs from legitimate online pharmacies, said Houston DEA Special Agent in Charge Javier Peña.
Collectively, the ring has been blamed for an estimated $400,000 reported stolen from consumers in Los Angeles, Denver, St. Louis, Little Rock, Ark., and now, Houston - though a total amount reported stolen locally was unavailable. The fraud first surfaced in mid-2010, but the culprits, part of an international extortion ring, recently targeted Texas, Peña said.
The impersonators use customers' personal prescription information as leverage to target the vulnerable, and sometimes the sick or elderly.
"Some are even threatening to extradite people to a South American country - it's all absurd," Peña said.
A few even claimed to be DEA's top dogs by borrowing names and titles of the secretive drug-fighting agency's elite special agents in charge.
In fact, Peña said he first learned of the ring in mid 2011 when his own name was used in the scam. At the time, he was assigned to the agency's office in Puerto Rico. A Los Angeles resident phoned Peña's office to report someone had borrowed his name and title - which are posted on official DEA websites - to threaten her and request payment in lieu of prosecution.
Not long afterward, another call came from Oregon with a nearly identical story.
DEA spokeswoman Lisa Webb Johnson said consumers should be suspicious of any caller posing as a federal agent who then requests personal information, such as "a drivers-license number, a date of birth, or payment."
She added that no legitimate agent or officer would ever say, " 'You purchased (what*ever) over the Internet and if you don't send X dollars to this bank account we're going to pick you up or we're going to charge you.' Do not get fooled - do not get scammed."
The DEA urges anyone with information on the telephone scam to call (877) 792-2873.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...aim-to-be-DEA-agents-to-get-money-3131004.php
At least 30 people complaining of extortion attempts contacted the Houston office of the Drug Enforcement Administration last month, saying they had been called by people who said they were DEA agents. The so-called agents threatened customers with arrest unless they paid as much as $5,000 to offshore bank accounts in lieu of prosecution.
DEA agents both locally and nationwide are actively targeting pill mills and other illicit prescription drug dealers to stop rampant prescription drug abuse, but the victims in this case appear to be citizens who simply ordered drugs from legitimate online pharmacies, said Houston DEA Special Agent in Charge Javier Peña.
Collectively, the ring has been blamed for an estimated $400,000 reported stolen from consumers in Los Angeles, Denver, St. Louis, Little Rock, Ark., and now, Houston - though a total amount reported stolen locally was unavailable. The fraud first surfaced in mid-2010, but the culprits, part of an international extortion ring, recently targeted Texas, Peña said.
The impersonators use customers' personal prescription information as leverage to target the vulnerable, and sometimes the sick or elderly.
"Some are even threatening to extradite people to a South American country - it's all absurd," Peña said.
A few even claimed to be DEA's top dogs by borrowing names and titles of the secretive drug-fighting agency's elite special agents in charge.
In fact, Peña said he first learned of the ring in mid 2011 when his own name was used in the scam. At the time, he was assigned to the agency's office in Puerto Rico. A Los Angeles resident phoned Peña's office to report someone had borrowed his name and title - which are posted on official DEA websites - to threaten her and request payment in lieu of prosecution.
Not long afterward, another call came from Oregon with a nearly identical story.
DEA spokeswoman Lisa Webb Johnson said consumers should be suspicious of any caller posing as a federal agent who then requests personal information, such as "a drivers-license number, a date of birth, or payment."
She added that no legitimate agent or officer would ever say, " 'You purchased (what*ever) over the Internet and if you don't send X dollars to this bank account we're going to pick you up or we're going to charge you.' Do not get fooled - do not get scammed."
The DEA urges anyone with information on the telephone scam to call (877) 792-2873.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...aim-to-be-DEA-agents-to-get-money-3131004.php
