Walgreens scams
Last updated September 18, 2026
The short answer
Walgreens scams use prescription-ready texts with payment links, myWalgreens "reward" offers requiring a card, and calls about insurance problems. Walgreens does not collect prescription payments through a link in a text and never asks for payment in gift cards.
Pharmacy messages get acted on immediately, which is what makes them worth faking. The Walgreens versions are near-identical to the CVS ones, often from the same operators running both templates against the same phone lists. The separate thread is gift cards: Walgreens is one of the most common places a victim of another scam is sent to buy them, which puts the brand in cases that have nothing to do with a pharmacy.
How Walgreens scams work
- 1
Prescription smishing
A text says a prescription is ready and a copay is due, with a link to pay. The page collects card and insurance details. Real notifications point you to the app or the store.
- 2
myWalgreens reward offers
A message offers points or a prize for a survey, ending in a card number for a shipping fee and enrolment in a recurring charge.
- 3
Insurance and Medicare pretexts
A caller claims a coverage problem and needs your Medicare or member number, which is the actual target.
- 4
Gift cards as the payment channel
Victims of tech support, IRS and romance scams are routinely directed to Walgreens for gift cards, and coached on what to tell staff if asked.
Warning signs
- A prescription text asks you to pay through a link
- You are asked for a Medicare, insurance or Social Security number by text or cold call
- A survey reward needs a card number for shipping
- Anyone tells you to buy gift cards and read out the numbers
- You are told to lie to store staff about what the cards are for
- The link domain is not walgreens.com
- A caller threatens that a prescription will be cancelled unless you act now
Examples
A $7.20 copay that cost $1,100
A text reports a prescription ready with a $7.20 copay and a payment link. The amount is too small to question. The card entered is used for $1,100 in online purchases before the next morning, and the insurance details captured alongside it are resold.
The reward that renewed monthly
A myWalgreens-branded survey promises 5,000 points and a free gift for $4.95 shipping. The points never appear. A $59.95 monthly charge from an unfamiliar merchant starts three weeks later, authorised in the survey page's terms.
What to do
- Check prescriptions in the Walgreens app or by calling your store on its published number.
- Never pay through a link in a text, regardless of the amount.
- Never buy gift cards at anyone's instruction, and tell staff honestly if they ask.
- If you read out gift card numbers, call the issuer immediately — unspent balances are occasionally frozen.
- Report Medicare or insurance number exposure to 1-800-MEDICARE or your insurer.
Report it to Walgreens
Report suspicious Walgreens-branded messages at 1-800-925-4733, and forward smishing texts to 7726 (SPAM).
Getting your money back
Treat a card entered on a fake pharmacy page as compromised: cancel it and dispute the charges, which are covered. Gift card losses are much harder — call the issuing brand immediately with the numbers and receipts, since a small share is recovered when the balance is unspent. If Medicare or insurance numbers were exposed, report them and then read every Explanation of Benefits for services you never received, which is how medical identity theft is actually caught.
Frequently asked questions
Does Walgreens text about prescriptions?
Yes, refill and ready notifications are genuine — which is what makes the fake ones work. The distinguishing feature is payment: real messages do not collect a copay through a link. Use the app or call your store instead.
Can store staff stop a gift card scam?
Often, and they try. Large gift card purchases prompt questions precisely because this is so common, and many losses are prevented at the till. That is why scammers coach victims on what to say — if you are being told what to tell a cashier, you are being scammed.
What do I do if I gave out my Medicare number?
Report it to 1-800-MEDICARE and contact your state Senior Medicare Patrol, which helps with this for free. A Medicare number cannot be reissued like a card, so the response is monitoring: read every Medicare Summary Notice and dispute anything you did not receive.
Other companies scammers impersonate
Scams reuse their scripts across brands. If you were contacted about Walgreens, these are the guides worth reading next.