Drug dealers are hacking into pharmacy accounts to steal Oxy prescriptions TechRadar Skip to main content TechRadar is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's why you can trust us. Drug dealers are hacking into pharmacy accounts to steal Oxy prescriptions By Sead Fadilpašić published 9 August 2022 Need Adderall? Just buy a pharmacy account with the doctor's prescription (Image credit: Shutterstock) Audio player loading… Cybercriminals are breaking into pharmacy websites and apps, and then stealing accounts with prescriptions for different medications, experts have warned. According to cybersecurity researchers from Kasada, those accounts are then sold on the black market, giving access to dangerous drugs to people who do not have their doctor's permission. Kasada spotted that since April 2022, the number of pharmacy accounts sold on the black market started to rise. Over the past 60 days, the number of stolen accounts increased fivefold, they said, reaching "tens of thousands". What's more, these are not accounts on third-grade pharmacies, with some of them among the biggest in the US. A hacker s guarantee "This activity is both illegal and dangerous. It puts medications in the hands of people who don't have a prescription from a doctor and enables substance abuse. It also takes prescribed medications away from the people who need them legitimately," Kasada said in a blog post (opens in new tab) outlining its findings. To obtain the accounts, the hackers use credential stuffing, trying infinite combinations of usernames and passwords (opens in new tab) (or using credentials stolen elsewhere) until they get in. Most of the process is automated. By selling these accounts, the crooks are giving away access to controlled and highly addictive substances, such as Adderall, or Oxycodone. The price of such an account, Kasada says, ranges from "what one would normally pay with an insurance co-payment" to "several hundred dollars". Buyers even get to choose the pharmacy, and the medication, and can pay for the service with either cash or crypto. The sellers, on the other hand, guarantee the account will work properly. If it doesn't, they provide the buyer with a new one, free of charge.Read more> Prevent credential stuffing attacks through attack cost analysis (opens in new tab) > Zola wedding registry accounts hacked, company refuses to bring in 2FA (opens in new tab) > These are the best ID theft protection services right now (opens in new tab) To obtain the drugs, the purchasers can either order online, using the credit card associated with the account (they just reroute the shipping address), or pick the drug up at the counter. The pharmacies often ask for personally identifiable information when handing over the drugs, such as birthdays. These things are all found in the stolen accounts (opens in new tab). Kasada's researchers don't know exactly what happens to the drugs once people actually obtain them, speculating that they're either sold again, or used. Here's our rundown of the best security keys (opens in new tab) today Sead Fadilpašić Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he's written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He's also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications. See more Computing news Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to theTechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. MOST POPULARMOST SHARED1You may not have to sell a body part to afford the Nvidia RTX 4090 after all2One of the world's most popular programming languages is coming to Linux3The iPhone 14 Pro is made of the wrong stuff; the Pixel 7 proves that to me4Apple October launches: the new devices we might see this month5Google's AI editing tricks are making Photoshop irrelevant for most people1Miofive 4K Dash Cam review2Logitech's latest webcam and headset want to relieve your work day frustrations3Best offers on Laptops for Education – this festive season4Intel Raptor Lake flagship CPU hits a huge 8.2GHz overclock5I tried the weirdest-looking Bluetooth speaker in the world, and I utterly adore it Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)● (opens in new tab)The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviewsFrom$12.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)