Locals get scam prescription card offer |
| October 22, 2013 |
|
A number of Boundary County residents have
reported receiving what at first glance appears
to be an official government offer promising to
save users up to 50 percent on prescription
costs, but it's not from the government, and
you'll save yourself some headaches by simply
throwing it in the trash. The United States Prescription Discounts prescription savings card, which the letter touts as being pre-activated and accepted at pharmacies everywhere, good on all FDA approved medications, and which no one can be denied, is being reported across the country as a data mining scam. The letter even has an official sounding Washington, D.C. address. The cards are accepted at some pharmacies, but media outlets including the Los Angeles Times report that who shouldn't expect much in the way of savings. What you can expect is that if you use the card, which works like a coupon, you can expect to be inundated with a sudden spate of "incredible" offers ... for despite assurances to the contrary, once you use the card, your personal information is provided "United States Prescription Discounts," one of several names used by the New York based company ScriptRelief, itself co-owned by Loeb Enterprises and a company called Catamaran, which specializes in negotiating drug prices with pharmacies. "ScriptRelief makes its money by receiving 'a few dollars' from drugstores for every transaction involving its cards, Ed McCabe, a company spokesman, told www.TheRxAdvocates.com. "Pharmacies apparently are betting that they'll still come out ahead by getting new customers through the door." ScriptRelief then sells your information to third parties, resulting in a flood of unsolicited and unwanted offers. |