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.

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.

  • Crismus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    32·
    3 years ago

    I really wish it was this easy to get the meds I actually need. I’ve been dealing with Chronic Pain for over 20 years now and still can’t get enough meds to function as a normal person.

  • ShunkW@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    3 years 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.

  • Lolman228@kbin.social
    21·
    3 years ago

    Why don’t they do what the rest of us do and break random bones over and over again?

  • cheese_greater@lemmy.worldEnglish
    613·
    3 years ago

    Why doctors ordering this stuff at all, shouldnt it be hospital pharmacists or something? I do not get why drs are involved at all in this

    • ShunkW@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      3 years ago

      Pharmacists cannot order drugs for a patient. A doctor (and certain other medical professionals) must prescribe the drug first, and the pharmacy fulfills the order.

      The system breached is used by doctors to send the orders to the pharmacy.

    • Contextual Idiot@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      101·
      3 years ago

      I think it’s the description that’s confusing. These hackers are getting in and writing their own prescriptions from the way it sounds. They then fill these prescriptions at regular pharmacies, or sell the prescriptions for a buyer to then get filled.

      Can’t read the whole article though without signing up, so maybe it’s something different.

    • DoctorWhookah@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5·
      3 years ago

      Pain clinics hire doctors. These doctors order drugs. Some of these clinics are legit, and some are pill mills working with organized crime.

          • cheese_greater@lemmy.worldEnglish
            19·
            3 years ago

            Doctors write the prescriptions. Pharmacists are responsible for stocking and dispensing the goods.

            It should be pharmacists ordering the drugs, there’s nowhere for the doctor in that equation

            • ShunkW@lemmy.worldEnglish
              13·
              3 years ago

              You’re not understanding, or you’re arguing in bad faith. This is the system that doctors use to send prescriptions electronically to pharmacists so that the patient can pick up the medication.

                • its_the_new_style@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                  4·
                  3 years ago

                  Article said they were phishing (or otherwise) to get enough info from the Dr to create their own ePrescribing accounts. Then they are effectively writing prescriptions as though they are a doctor and getting them filled at local pharmacies. Just a much more sophisticated version of stealing the prescription pad and forging a signature.

            • WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.worldEnglish
              7·
              3 years ago

              I think you’re misunderstanding the word “order.” They mean order like “Dr’s Orders” not like the Dr is generating requests to the drug warehouse.

            • gallopingsnail@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
              2·
              3 years ago

              They’re using “order” as a command, not physically buying medication. Outpatient pharmacies receive the physician’s order as a prescription, but in hospitals and clinics they’re just referred to as “orders” and could include everything from medications to diet, scheduled treatments, physical activity, etc.