By: Gary Coody, R.Ph.

The severity of this year’s flu season has brought out the scammers promoting fraudulent flu products.

Through our careful monitoring of the Internet, FDA has identified numerous untested and unapproved products being illegally marketed with deceptive claims that they prevent, treat, or cure the flu.

When FDA staff find these fraudulent products, we send a warning letter to the sellers describing how the product violates federal law and instructing them to respond in writing with a description of how they intend to address the violations. If a seller does not respond within 15 days and continues to sell the product without correcting the violations, the products being sold by U.S. companies may be seized, FDA may notify law enforcement officials in the country abroad where a seller maintains its operation, or the federal government may take other legal actions.

In the past week, the agency has sent nine warning letters to firms marketing fraudulent flu-fighting products, including an online seller marketing a product that claims to be an alternative to the flu vaccine, three firms marketing dietary supplements online (letters co-signed by the Federal Trade Commission), and a firm selling an oral spray online and in major retail stores.

The remaining four warning letters were issued to online firms selling what they claim to be generic and other unapproved versions of oseltamivir phosphate, the active ingredient in Tamiflu. Tamiflu is an FDA-approved brand-name drug, but no generic Tamiflu is approved in the U.S.

FDA advises consumers to beware of online “pharmacies” selling generic versions of Tamiflu. If you buy one of these products, you don’t know what you’re getting—it could be counterfeit, contaminated, or not stored properly to maintain quality. It could also have the wrong active ingredient or no active ingredient at all.

Some of the other fraudulent claims addressed in the warning letters include:

• “the most effective alternative to the flu shot”
• “natural health and strength can still be yours without flu shots”
• “fight cold and flu – naturally!”
• “safeguard you from deadly flu viruses.”

Our concern is that a consumer will buy or use a fraudulent product advertised as an “alternative to the flu vaccine” instead of getting the approved vaccine. The vaccine is the best way to prevent getting the flu.

Any time there is a large outbreak of disease, fraudulent products appear on the market. Bogus remedies were rampant during the 1918 flu pandemic, commonly known as the Spanish flu, which killed an estimated 675,000 Americans. Fast forward to 2009, when FDA sent out more than 100 warning letters to sellers fraudulently promoting their products to prevent the H1N1 (swine) flu.

Today, when a health threat emerges, fraudulent products appear almost overnight because the Internet and social media such as Facebook and Twitter have accelerated how quickly hucksters can reach the unsuspecting public.

FDA can’t track down all of these fraudulent products, so consumers need to beware of unapproved products that make false claims. When in doubt about a product, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional.

For more information about health fraud scams, visit www.fda.gov/healthfraud.

Gary Coody, R.Ph., is FDA’s national health fraud coordinator, FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs, Office of Enforcement