Is the prescription discounts card you've received in the mail a scam?

It throws up all the red flags.

It’s a generic form letter that’s official looking- almost to a fault. There are no personal markers, such as the recipient’s name. It’s got a generic company name. And, most of all, it’s offering you a deal that looks too good to be true.

But is it?

Many of us in the newsroom, myself included, received the letter from United States Prescription Discounts. It includes several cards that the letter claims you can give to a pharmacist the next time you fill a prescription to receive a significant discount.

“They’re advertising up to 75% discount. You might occasionally get that, more likely it’s a 10-20% discount, but you will get the discount,” says Northeast Florida Better Business Bureau President Tom Stephens.

The letter obtained by WOKV promises an average savings of 50%.  The letter says the card is pre-activated and there’s no kind of registration needed. You’re also given other cards to distribute to family.

So even if the savings only amount to about 10%, it’s still savings- so we asked Stephens what the potential catch is.

He says when you use the card, your personal information is going to the pharmacy, and then back to United States Prescription Discounts.

“The company will then have your personal identification information so they can use that for other marketing purposes,” he says.

While that is considered a potential privacy concern, Stephens says this is absolutely not something they consider a scam.

But with so many changes happening with the federal healthcare law now in effect, there have been many healthcare scams that have in fact popped up and threatened your information. Stephens says the BBB is constantly tracking and researching these potential scams, and if you have any concern about the legitimacy of an offer, you can check company names at bbb.org.