COVID-19 Crisis Emboldens Viagra and Other Drug Scammers

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted drug counterfeiters of every description to take advantage of the current confusion to peddle their fake medications. And counterfeit ED drug marketers are no exception. 

With most of the world preoccupied with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, drug counterfeiters of every description are seizing the moment to perpetrate still more scams and cash in on this global crisis.

Alarmed at the sharp rise in COVID-19-specific scams, the U.S. Federal Bureau for Investigation on March 20, 2020, issued a public service announcement. The FBI warned that “scammers are leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic to steal your money, your personal information, or both. Don’t let them.”

Steer Clear of COVID-19 ‘Cures’

The FBI urged Americans to be extremely wary of offers to sell products claiming “to prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19.” As of this writing, there is no vaccine to protect against infection by the novel coronavirus, nor are there any treatments that have been proven to help relieve the symptoms of COVID-19.

While many of the current scams focus on so-called cures or treatments for the virus itself, this confusion has also prompted a resurgence in counterfeit ED drug schemes. These counterfeiters are hoping that the single-minded focus on COVID-19 right now will give them the cover they need to drum up business for fake Viagra, Cialis, and other ED medications.

Fake Drugs Are Big Business

Well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, the global counterfeit drug business was valued by SingleCare.com at $200 billion in late July 2019. The new opportunities for scammers afforded by this new health crisis will no doubt push this market to even greater heights.

Accounting for a big chunk of the international counterfeit drug business are fake copies of the popular ED drugs such as Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. In fact, Viagra has long been recognized as one of the world’s most counterfeited drugs, according to SingleCare.

Rochester Seizure Cited

SingleCare cites an April 2019 seizure of counterfeit Viagra, Cialis, and sexual enhancement pills at the Greater Rochester International Airport in New York State. Every drug in the shipment was counterfeit, and the shipment as a whole had a value of $60,000. Not an inconsiderable sum, but just a drop in the bucket of the global trade in counterfeit ED drugs.

While the prices posted for these fake ED drugs may be attractive, using them could pose a serious threat to your health and well-being. While some of these counterfeits actually do contain sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, it’s either too little to do any good or so great that it could cause cardiac complications.

Toxic Ingredients Often Used

Apart from whatever active ingredients — of lack thereof — might be present in fake ED drugs, counterfeiters are unscrupulous in their use of toxic materials to manufacture these fakes. Counterfeit ED medications have been found to contain printer’s ink and drywall material, neither of which is fit for human consumption.

Fortunately for men who need the added help that ED drugs provide to get and keep an erection suitable intercourse, prices of these drugs are no longer as high as they once were. Much of the credit for the softening of ED drug prices goes to generics, which are now available for Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra.

Order from eDrugstore.com

Many men who use these drugs have found that they can get their best deal by ordering them through Arizona-based eDrugstore.com, a longtime online medical facilitator. The prices posted at eDrugstore encompass not just the drugs themselves but a number of time- and money-saving services as well. Shipping and handling are free, which spares you the hassle of trips to and from the local pharmacy.

For men who don’t have a prescription for their ED drugs, eDrugstore’s complimentary online consultation service is an ideal solution. You’ll be paired up online with a physician licensed to practice in your state. If the doctor decides that you’re an appropriate candidate, he or she will issue a prescription that will then be routed to one of eDrugstore’s licensed U.S. pharmacy partners. The pharmacy will fill your order and promptly ship it off to you. To learn more, visit eDrugstore’s Erectile Dysfunction page.