Posted: January 19, 2014 Author: Jennifer Walker-Journey
Websites that illegally sell prescription drugs may not only be selling counterfeit medications and drugs with undisclosed ingredients, they could also put consumers at risk for non-health related issues such as identity theft, computer viruses, and credit card fraud, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned.
The FDA is working with national and international regulatory and law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal pharmacy websites, and wants consumers to be aware of these fraudulent companies when ordering medications online, particularly websites that claim to be Canadian pharmacies. In June, the agency announced that 1,677 illegal pharmacy websites had been seized and shut down. Many of the websites appeared to be operated by a criminal network that represented itself as various Canadian pharmacies.
The FDA warns that many of the medications sold by these illegal sites are often stolen or counterfeit. An unsuspecting consumer may be buying a medication that does not have the active ingredient that will make it effective, or it may have undisclosed ingredients that could endanger health or be life threatening to those taking the drug.
Consumers should be leery of pharmacies that allow them to buy drugs without a prescription from their doctor, offer deep discounts or cheap prices that seem too good to be true, send spam or unsolicited email offering cheap drugs, are located outside of the United States, or are not licensed in the United States.
Legitimate pharmacies typically always require a doctor’s prescription, provide a physical address and telephone number in the United States, offer a pharmacist to answer your questions, and have a license with a state board of pharmacy, the FDA said.
quoted from here
Websites that illegally sell prescription drugs may not only be selling counterfeit medications and drugs with undisclosed ingredients, they could also put consumers at risk for non-health related issues such as identity theft, computer viruses, and credit card fraud, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned.
The FDA is working with national and international regulatory and law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal pharmacy websites, and wants consumers to be aware of these fraudulent companies when ordering medications online, particularly websites that claim to be Canadian pharmacies. In June, the agency announced that 1,677 illegal pharmacy websites had been seized and shut down. Many of the websites appeared to be operated by a criminal network that represented itself as various Canadian pharmacies.
The FDA warns that many of the medications sold by these illegal sites are often stolen or counterfeit. An unsuspecting consumer may be buying a medication that does not have the active ingredient that will make it effective, or it may have undisclosed ingredients that could endanger health or be life threatening to those taking the drug.
Consumers should be leery of pharmacies that allow them to buy drugs without a prescription from their doctor, offer deep discounts or cheap prices that seem too good to be true, send spam or unsolicited email offering cheap drugs, are located outside of the United States, or are not licensed in the United States.
Legitimate pharmacies typically always require a doctor’s prescription, provide a physical address and telephone number in the United States, offer a pharmacist to answer your questions, and have a license with a state board of pharmacy, the FDA said.
quoted from here