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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.

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[-] ShunkW@lemmy.world 31 points 8 months ago

I heard about this last weekend when one of my prescriptions had to be written on paper because it's a controlled substance. The normal stuff can still be sent electronically, but any controlled drug is being done manually right now.

[-] CoopaLoopa@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 8 months ago

I don't think these two are related.

Change Healthcare (company who handles most electronic prescription platforms) had a ransomware attack a couple weeks ago that took down their entire infrastructure for multiple days.

Doctors and pharmacies were likely using paper scripts because the entire electronic prescription platform was shutdown.

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/03/05/hhs-statement-regarding-the-cyberattack-on-change-healthcare.html

[-] ShunkW@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

I had 7 prescriptions sent over at once and got one on paper. The doctor told me this was the reason that the one controlled substance was given to me on paper.

Also I had been given this need electronically once before a couple months prior.

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this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024
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