Claim:
Criminals in the U.S. are using business cards coated with a drug called burundanga to incapacitate victims and steal or take advantage of them.
Rating:
Rating: False
In late September and early October 2025, Facebook users spread a warning about a scheme apparently putting its victims in danger.
The message, framed as a “police warning” to women in particular, warned readers about a supposed incident where a man gave a woman at a gas station a business card laced with a drug called burunganda and followed her as she drove away. The woman felt dizzy due to a strong odor she realized was coming from the hand that had touched the business card. She escaped the incident without any harm to her because she rolled down the window to let the odor out and honked her car horn to get the attention of passers-by.
Many Snopes reader searched the site wondering whether the claim was true. Snopes previously fact-checked a similar claim about burunganda in 2008 and again in 2010.
The full warning, posted several (archived) times (archived) on (archived) Facebook (archived), was as follows:
POLICE WARNING!! Police Warning Ladies: If you are a female, take heed! If you are male and have a significant female in your life who you care about, whether it’s your wife, your girlfriend, your daughter, your sister, your niece, your cousin, your next door neighbor; whomever…………..pass this along! Always, “Be…tter safe than sorry!” A man came over and offered his services as a painter to a female putting gas in her car and left his card. She said no, but accepted his card out of courtesy and got in her car. The man then got into a car driven by another gentleman. As the lady left the service station, she saw the men following her out of the station at the same time. Almost immediately, she started to feel dizzy and could not catch her breath. She tried to open the window and realized that the odor was on her hand; the same hand which accepted the card from the gentleman at the gas station. She then noticed the men were immediately behind her and she felt she needed to do something at that moment. She drove into the first driveway and began to honk her horn repeatedly to ask for help. The men drove away but the lady still felt pretty bad for several minutes after she could finally catch her breath. Apparently, there was a substance on the card that could have seriously injured her. This drug is called ‘BURUNDANGA’ and it is used by people who wish to incapacitate a victim in order to steal from or take advantage of them. This drug is four times more dangerous than the date rape drug and is transferable on simple cards. So take heed and make sure you don’t accept cards at any given time you are alone or from someone on the streets. This applies to those making house calls and slipping you a card when they offer their services. PLEASE SEND THIS E-MAIL ALERT TO EVERY FEMALE/MALE YOU KNOW!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/paul.veillion/posts/pfbid0rRkXychzLT9gD8yJF8wpLrFHjCDAhBUVgVyM4EbKGgpKWRhmgLZrPixHuXKQhiKgl
There was no evidence that the events in the post took place. In fact, the scenario described would be impossible with burunganda, which is a real drug (although one that is uncommon in the United States).
A June 2023 U.S. Department of State travel warning described burunganda as “an odorless, tasteless, memory blocking substance used to incapacitate and rob unwary victims.” The State Department said the drug, which is made with the chemical scopolamine, “is most often administered in liquid, spray, or powder form in foods and beverages.”
The warning was prompted by an increase in crimes involving sedatives in Colombia, crimes in which victims were often targeted through online dating applications. Burunganda is most common in Columbia and is derived from the seeds of a tree that grows primarily in South America, according to the UK Addiction Treatment Centres. Scopolamine also can be found in angel’s trumpet, an ornamental garden plant popular in the U.S., a 2020 American College of Emergency Physicians article said.
Burunganda is also known as “devil’s breath,” which a WebMD article describes as “scopolamine in powdered form.” As a medicine, it’s often used to treat postoperative nausea and motion sickness. A person who has unknowingly ingested it as a drug may experience the symptoms of dry mouth, difficulty speaking, lethargy, hallucinations, rapid heartbeat and disorientation, UK Addiction Treatment Centres said. It may render a victim unconscious for more than 24 hours, the State Department warned, and in large-enough doses could cause respiratory failure and death.
Snopes could not find reporting of burunganda being used criminally in the United States. Most reports about its use are from Colombia, including a Bogota Post story from September 2025.
While medical scopolamine can be administered through a patch on the skin, the drug burunganda is inhaled or ingested. It’s odorless, and its effects wouldn’t dissipate just because someone opened a window. So the story in the Facebook posts, at least so long as it involves burundanga, is impossible.
Could the posts still be true, with some minor mistakes such as the name of the drug used? Well, the story’s lack of details makes it nearly impossible to know for sure, a common tactic for chain messages sharing made-up stories. The story fails to name when this supposed incident occurred, in which city or even country, the service station this apparently happened at, the name of the woman involved or which police department issued this warning. A true story would likely have at least a few identifying details.
Snopes could not find any credible news reports from the last few years of victims being drugged in secret by business cards in an online search for such incidents.
Snopes’ archives contributed to this report.
Sources:
Collyer, Abigail. “The World’s Scariest Drug: Devil’s Breath.” UK Addiction Treatment Centres, 6 Nov. 2023, www.ukat.co.uk/blog/substance-abuse/the-worlds-scariest-drug-devils-breath/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Hide, Steve. “Bogotá Police Take down Gang Drugging Victims in Teusaquillo and Chapinero.” The Bogotá Post, 27 Sept. 2025, thebogotapost.com/bogota-police-take-down-gang-drugging-victims-in-teusaquillo-and-chapinero/53919/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Roper, Laura, et al. “Angel’s Trumpet and Devil’s Breath: A Trip into Psychonaut Culture.” Www.acep.org, American College of Emergency Physicians, 2 Apr. 2020, www.acep.org/toxicology/newsroom/apr2020/angels-trumpet-and-devils-breath-a-trip-into-psychonaut-culture. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
“Security Alert for U.S. Citizens: U.S. Embassy Bogota – Increase in Crimes Involving Use of Sedatives.” U.S. Embassy in Colombia, 9 June 2023, co.usembassy.gov/security-alert-for-u-s-citizens-u-s-embassy-bogota-increase-in-crimes-involving-use-of-sedatives/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Zomorodi, Chloe. “What Is Devil’s Breath (Scopolamine)?” WebMD, 16 Nov. 2022, www.webmd.com/drugs/what-is-devils-breath. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
