OMAHA, Neb. — As students across the Midwest head back to classrooms, federal drug enforcement officials are urging parents in Iowa, Nebraska and neighboring states to talk openly with their children about the growing risk of buying drugs online.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Omaha Field Division, which covers Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, issued a public alert on August 10, 2026. Officials say drug traffickers are increasingly using social media to reach young people directly through the smartphones most teenagers carry every day.

Approximately 95 percent of American teens ages 13 to 17 have access to a smartphone. Dealers post advertisements for counterfeit pills and other drugs on public social media feeds and disappearing stories, often using code words and emojis. Once contact is made, conversations typically move to encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram. Payments are frequently handled through common mobile services like Venmo, Zelle or Cash App, and packages can be delivered straight to a buyer’s home.

“Social media is just another avenue that drug dealers are using to push counterfeit pills and other poisons to a new generation,” said Dustin Gillespie, special agent in charge of the DEA Omaha Field Division. “Sit down as a family. Talk about the fact that pills sold online may claim to be one thing, when often, they’re laced with deadly doses of fentanyl. Stay on top of your kids’ phone. It’s not bad parenting; it’s a potentially life-saving measure.”

In the first seven months of 2026, agents in the five-state region seized more than 67,000 fentanyl pills. While that figure is lower than in some previous years, seizures of fentanyl powder rose nearly 87 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. Combined, the pill and powder seizures represent more than four million potentially lethal doses removed from communities in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

To help parents recognize warning signs, the DEA has released a short video series called “Hidden on Your Kid’s Phone.” Additional information and a fact sheet on social media drug trafficking are available at dea.gov/onepill and GetSmartAboutDrugs.gov/Hidden.

Officials emphasize that one conversation can make a difference. With school starting and smartphones in nearly every teen’s pocket, they say the best defense begins at home.

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