Avoid #covidscams - A Partnership for Safe Medicines Public Education Campaign

Avoid #COVIDScams and Counterfeiters: Tips to Purchase Medicine Safely

Ask your pharmacist about how much medicine you should buy: hoarding can create unnecessary shortages.

If you are experiencing hardship contact NeedyMeds, RX Outreach and Medicine Assistance Tool to find patient assistance programs to help you afford your medicines.

If you are buying over the counter or prescription medicine online, buy from a .pharmacy pharmacy. Pharmacies in other countries are not safe, even if they "look safe" to you.

Download our guide, AVOID SCAMS & COUNTERFEITS: Quick Tips to Safely Purchase Medicines Online (in English and Spanish) to learn more, and our #covidscams bookmark, which is a quick reference about five kinds of online crime that have spiked since the coronavirus emerged.

For up to to the minute news, track our coverage about the five types of COVID-19 scams.

Adopt this campaign and help spread the word!

Post our one pager to your website and to social media. Use the hashtag #covidscams to help raise awareness of criminals using the crisis to prey on people. Drop us a note at editors@safemedicines.org to let us know you're helping! Click here for sample tweets.

Tell Congress to kick COVID-19 scammers off the Internet!

Learn more and write congress on our TAKE ACTION page.

#covidscam News

4 Deaths and 26 Hospitalizations in Arizona Caused by Fake Hand Sanitizer Made with Methanol

July 21, 2020

The FDA has issued 70 recalls/warnings at last count for hand sanitizers made with deadly wood alcohol (methanol). Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death.

Photo of Brit covidscammer Frank Ludlow's basement

Counterfeit Medicine News for the Week of July 6, 2020

July 14, 2020

PSM continues to monitor public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. This week’s round-up includes news of COVID-19 scammers in the U.S. and overseas, fake pill traffickers in Arizona, South Carolina and Connecticut, and more.

Fake pills pouring from industrial equipment

Counterfeit Medicine News for the Week of June 29, 2020

July 7, 2020

PSM continues to monitor public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. This week’s round-up includes news of COVID-19 scammers in the U.S. and overseas, as well as fake pill traffickers, and a startling counterfeit pill seizure in Italy.

Items seized in Ohio June 2020

Counterfeit Medicine News for the Week of June 22, 2020

June 30, 2020

PSM continues to monitor public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. This week’s round-up includes prosecutions of COVID-19 scammers and fake pill traffickers, massive seizures in across the U.S., and two tragic deaths.

June 24, 2020 #covidscams video: A million fake COVID-19 products seized

June 24, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security blew past a grim milestone this month: 1 million fake COVID-19 products seized: fake and substandard personal protective equipment like masks, counterfeit test kits, black market  medicine, unapproved thermometers, and fake treatments like colloidal silver or bleach.