News & Updates
The Latest on Internet Pharmacies, Supplements, Designer Drugs,
and Other High-Risk Merchants
“Hate/Harm” Content Poses a Reputational Risk for Card Brands and Payment Facilitators
With the gaining momentum of the alt-right movement over the past few years, the US and other Western countries have seen an increase in hate groups and other extremist organizations that frequently operate and organize through the internet. Although the First Amendment of the US Constitution offers broad protections for speech, card brands, payment facilitators, and…
Illicit IPTV: The Streaming Content May Be Cheap, but the Fines Are Expensive
Would you like instant access to thousands of movies, premium TV channels, and pay-per-view content for a low monthly subscription fee, or even for free? These are two examples of the promises that providers of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) make to consumers to entice them to purchase their products. However, merchants who offer unauthorized IPTV…
Herbal Incense Linked to at Least Two Deaths and 54 Cases of Severe Bleeding
Photo from the National Drug-Free Work Alliance. At least two people are dead and many more are facing disturbing symptoms linked to the use of synthetic cannabinoids purchased mostly in and around Chicago, Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH), contaminated cannabinoid products — some of which have tested positive for rat poison…
Build Trust and Improve Your Business Through Healthcare Merchant Certification
Healthcare merchants operating legally online may wonder why they need certification when they are already properly licensed. What they may fail to realize is that the online healthcare space — including internet pharmacies, telemedicine providers, eyewear merchants, and more — is rife with bad actors offering products and services that are illegal and potentially dangerous.…
Kratom: Addiction Treatment or Addictive Opioid?
As mentioned in our last post, LegitScript has noticed a trend to market kratom as an opioid alternative and an opiate withdrawal aid. Today, we’re taking a closer look at this plant, which has been the subject of some recent alarming warnings by the FDA. Kratom, also known as Mitragyna speciosa, is a tree that grows naturally in Thailand,…
As Opiate Addiction Explodes, So Do Supplement Companies Looking to Cash In
In a public health crisis, some people see suffering while others see profits. The Food and Drug Administration frequently warns consumers about fraudulent or unapproved products that sprout up during disease outbreaks such as Zika, H1N1, or Ebola. But what about a different kind of outbreak — the opioid epidemic? More than 64,000 Americans died…
FDA Attempts to Define Rules for Burgeoning Stem Cell Clinic Industry
Recent news is replete with stories about the potential of stem cell therapy as well as cautionary tales about unscrupulous stem cell clinics that promise cures for chronic diseases but fail to deliver. Confusion over stem cell therapy is widespread enough that, in late 2017, the FDA Commissioner issued a statement promising a comprehensive policy…
Acquirers and Consumers Should be Wary of Debt Settlement Services
US household debt hit an all-time high in 2017, driven in part by an increase in credit card balances and an uptick in serious delinquencies, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data. That means more desperate consumers looking for relief. Debt settlement companies pitch their services as a…
A Case Study of Probationary Certification: Chemist-4-U
Is redemption possible for rogue internet healthcare merchants? We’d like to think so. That’s why LegitScript introduced the probationary certification status late last year, and how the operators of the once-rogue UK website chemist-4-u.com came to be one of our first pharmacies approved under this classification. A Problematic Premium Subdomain. In August 2016, we released…
License Reinstated for Canadian Pharmacist Who Sold Counterfeit Cancer Drugs to the US
Canadian internet pharmacist Kristjan Thorkelson had his license reinstated by the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba only days after the regulatory authority suspended him, according to a report by CBC News. The sudden reversal reinforces LegitScript’s assertion that Canadian regulation of these internet pharmacies is inadequate for protecting US consumers. The Canadian regulatory authority confirmed…