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Provider Notice Issued 09/20/2018
Date: September 20, 2018
To: Participating Pharmacies, Physicians, Dentists, Podiatrists, Optometrists, Hospitals, Advanced Practice Nurses, and Physician Assistants
Re: ALERT: Fraudulent Prescription Requests
This notice is to alert providers that the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Pharmacy Unit and Office of Inspector General (OIG) have been notified by primary care providers across the state that they are receiving high volumes of fraudulent/fake prescription requests by unknown person(s) posing as pharmacists or pharmaceutical companies.
In recent known cases, the fraudulent prescription request(s) are faxed to the physician’s office for signature and the prepared prescription gives the appearance of originating from a legitimate pharmacy when in fact the pharmacy phone number listed on the prescription is fraudulent. In addition the fraudulent request form contains lists of pre-printed medications including expensive topical creams, ointments and medical supplies such as:
o Diclofenac;
o Lidocaine 5%;
o diabetic supplies; and
o over the counter medications.
In the June 2018 newsletter issued by the National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities (NASCSA), it was reported that the Washington Field Office of the FBI, in coordination with Office of Private Sector, issued a warning about fraudulent prescription submissions. Although there may be many others, the warning listed these known fax numbers used in the scheme:
800-581-1299 866-705-4069 866-462-7769 561-331-6061 800-868-8136 866-242-5573 866-308-4144 866-583-0576 888-641-0060 888-290-8812
Providers should review ALL faxed prescription(s) or medical supply requests carefully for validity and medical necessity.
Questions regarding this notice can be directed to the FBI Private Sector Coordinator at your local FBI Field Office or the HFS OIG fraud unit at HFS.OIG.fraudhotline@illinois.gov
Bradley Hart
Inspector General