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# Consumers Getting ‘Fake’ Warning Letters: FDA
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/consumers-getting-fake-warning-letters-fda/
- Published: 2018-07-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T00:19:15.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5141866

FDA says criminals are forging Warning Letters targeting individuals who try to purchase medicines online or over the telephone. An agency [news release](https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm613418.htm?ref=fdaweb.com) says FDA is concerned that the fake Warning Letters are linked to an international extortion scam. “FDA generally does not issue Warning Letters to individuals who purchase medicines online,” the release says.

Having cautioned consumers about the fake letters, FDA commissioner **Scott Gottlieb** also reminded them “of the dangers of purchasing medicines from illegal online pharmacies. These risks range from receiving unapproved and potentially counterfeit medicines to unknowingly making themselves targets to scams like these.”

The release says the agency has become aware that instead of receiving the drug products ordered on the phone or the Internet, consumers received an official-looking but fake Warning Letter either from FDA or FDA and the Federal Trade Commission. The letters claim the agency has determined that there are drug violations based on a review of the parcel and the consumers’ social media accounts.