BAYTOWN, Texas – Someone is calling people and claiming to be a Drug Enforcement Agency officer.
DEA agents said the victims are people who have purchased pharmaceuticals online or by phone.
The caller has demanded personal information and money, officials said.
"The pitch is like you're in trouble with the law, you're in trouble with the DEA over some purchase of pharmaceutical prescription drugs, that you are fined," said Javier F. Pena, special agent in charge of the Houston DEA office.
Pena said the scammer has impersonated him in some of the calls.
"That is personal," Pena said. "I've had about three different calls where the people have used my name and, luckily, the people were smart enough not go give information. I hate to say it, but there are some people who have paid these crooks. That's what they are, scam artists."
Investigators said it's a well-organized extortion racket that has operated for about a year. People in New York, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Seattle and Los Angeles have also been targeted.
More than 2,000 of those calls were reported in 2011. In the past two weeks, the volume of calls targeting Houston residents has increased.
It is not illegal to buy prescription drugs online or by phone, but legitimate sellers must be registered with the DEA.
The DEA has set up a hotline to report scams. Anyone who gets a suspicious call is asked to call the DEA at 877-792-2873.