News & Updates
The Latest on Internet Pharmacies, Supplements, Designer Drugs,
and Other High-Risk Merchants
How to Spot Donation Scams Related to COVID-19
In the midst of a natural disaster or other large crisis, scammers inevitably take advantage of the spike in public goodwill and the influx of genuine fundraising and charity websites. LegitScript has observed this to be true in the midst of the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These scammers may pose as…
Bogus Cures and Unapproved Treatments for COVID-19 Flood the Internet
With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe, the payments and e-commerce landscapes are especially vulnerable right now to scammers preying on consumers with fake cures, unapproved treatments, and other unconventional products and services to treat the new coronavirus. These scams are not only detrimental to public health but also pose serious risks of chargebacks…
Price Gouging from Coronavirus Opportunists Poses Credit and Regulatory Risk
As the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus spreads, opportunistic scammers have begun taking advantage of panicked consumers through price gouging on basic healthcare products, such as hand sanitizer, face masks, and toilet paper. Many online merchants are now offering these products at drastic markups, ranging from three small bottles of hand sanitizer for $60…
As Coronavirus Spreads, So Do Fake, Unapproved, and Ineffective Test Kits
LegitScript has been proactively monitoring the online space in response to the outbreak of the virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, and has identified an increasing trend in the marketing of coronavirus-related products that present an elevated risk to consumers, payment service providers, and e-commerce platforms. In particular, the severe shortage of diagnostic kits to test…
New Warning Letters Signal Forceful Approach to Containing Coronavirus Treatment Claims
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday seven warning letters they issued jointly to business owners making potentially problematic claims that their products can treat or prevent the new coronavirus. These letters appear to reflect aggressive action by the federal agencies to stop businesses capitalizing on COVID-19 fears…
North Carolina Man Receives Maximum Sentence for Selling Dangerous Chemical for Weight Loss
The US Department of Justice announced recently that North Carolina resident Barry Clint Wright was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for his role in the online sale of 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP), a substance abused by bodybuilders and other people for weight-loss purposes. Wright, 38, received the maximum statutory sentence for introducing an unapproved drug…
LegitScript’s First Probationary-certified Company Earns Full Certification
We’re pleased to announce that Chemist-4-U, LegitScript’s first probationary-certified company, has now earned full certification. The change in status occurred early in the new year and is a reflection of about two years in which the online pharmacy has remained in compliance with LegitScript’s certification standards. In August 2016, we released a blog post and…
LegitScript Helps Shut Down 6,149 Rogue Internet Pharmacies in 2019
As part of our mission to help create an internet everyone can trust, LegitScript regularly reports “rogue” internet pharmacies to the registrars that sponsor these domain names. In 2019, LegitScript issued 63 notifications comprising 7,083 domain names. This complimentary notification service helps registrars take action against illicit operators and helps prevent the public from buying…
Five Reasons Counterfeit Goods Put You at Risk
Intellectual property infringement made news last month with noteworthy enforcement and legal actions in the United States and beyond. First, a US federal complaint described an international counterfeiting ring that smuggled $472 million worth of counterfeit sneakers into the country. Then, Europol announced it had shut down more than 30,000 websites for selling fake or…
What’s Fishy About Merchants Selling Fish Antibiotics?
In an attempt to source cheaper healthcare alternatives, some consumers have turned to risky behaviors, including medicating themselves with animal drugs. One type of product sold online that has high risk for this kind of misuse is fish antibiotics. Given that fish and humans share many of the same medicines (e.g., amoxicillin, penicillin, tetracycline, and…
