Hackers and fraudsters are gaining access to sensitive drug ordering tools and then advertising some of the most tightly controlled drugs in the country, including fentanyl.

“Tap the fuck in,” a message posted to a large crime-focused Telegram group chat in October read. The user included a photo of a Macbook Pro in a darkened room with a hand hovering above the keyboard. On the screen were blue and white boxes; a dashboard used by doctors and other medical industry professionals to order prescriptions. The panel displayed various pieces of information, such as the prescribing physician, the patient’s required dose, and the patient’s name.

In the middle of the screen read the text “oxyCODONE (oxyCODONE 5 mg oral tablet).”

404 Media has uncovered a wide-spanning scheme in which criminals break into various panels used by doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and even wholesale narcotics providers, and then leverage that access to order controlled substances like oxycodone. Some of the hackers then appear to sell these substances for profit online. Because the hackers are using legitimate ordering tools designed for industry professionals, when a prescription request lands at a pharmacy, it can look as legitimate as any other.

  • ShunkW@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I didn’t consider existing orders vs a one time prescription making a difference in my case. It also could just be my provider and others in my area - my friend who goes through another hospital system here for scheduled drugs has had to go through paper prescriptions if there wasn’t already a refill on record.

    I guess each system is handling it the way they see fit.

    • Syn_Attck@lemmy.today
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      9 months ago

      That would make sense. I believe you have to enroll the patient into the efill system which makes sense when it’ll be done often, but for a one-off, may as well save the paperwork and write it on a script pad.

      • ShunkW@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Well I had this same medicine sent over electronically a couple months prior. The doctor I saw told me this was the reason they would only give me a paper script this time around.