Santo Domingo.- The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert Thursday on fraud and extortions in the purchase of medicine via telephone from localities in Dominican Republic.

The reports of telephone calls originating from the country reveal the existence of an illegal system designed to swindle American medicine buyers using IDs stolen from FDA officials.

"Several instances have been reported to the FDA of calls enticing consumers to purchase discounted prescription drugs by wiring funds to one of several locations in the Dominican Republic. No medications are ever delivered. A subsequent call is received from a fraudulent "FDA special agent" informing the consumer that a fine of several thousand dollars is required to be sent to an address in the Dominican Republic to prevent incarceration or other legal action," the FDA says on its Web site.

The FDA affirms that the swindlers, as yet identified, contact consumers to sell them medicines at discount prices, whereas posing as FDA agents they also ask their potential victims for personal information and to conduct monetary transactions to Dominican Republic bank accounts.

The FDA says that after the supposed medicines never reach the buyers, the impostor "agents" make a second call to continue with their extortion by demanding the transfer of thousands of dollars to an address in Dominican Republic, in order to avoid imprisonment or other legal action.

It adds that the telephone calls appear as if they were made from the United States, because the swindlers use a system known as VoIP, which uses computers or cell phones to avoid detection.

Source: clavedigital.com