News & Updates
The Latest on Internet Pharmacies, Supplements, Designer Drugs,
and Other High-Risk Merchants
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…
LegitScript Certification Now Recognized by Google
Google now accepts LegitScript’s Healthcare Merchant Certification for advertisers of pharmaceuticals and other healthcare-related products in the US and Canada. This means that healthcare merchants who are certified and monitored by LegitScript can advertise on Google AdWords, Shopping, and DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM) without ads being paused or suspended for not complying with this new…
A Look Back at the “Best” of 2017: Rogue Pharmacy Edition
Every day at LegitScript, we use our unique analytical and research skills to dismantle rogue pharmacies and disrupt illicit operations around the world. Our analysts identified more than 26,000 rogue internet pharmacies in 2017. The work may sound pretty analytical, but we often find levity in none other than the rogue internet pharmacies themselves. Criminals…
Uncovering Blatant Forgeries: Rogue Pharmacies Take Creative License with Public Health
As part of LegitScript’s mission to make the internet safer and more transparent, our analysts regularly submit notifications about illicit internet pharmacies to domain name registrars. Operators of these problematic websites are welcome to appeal our designation of “rogue pharmacy.” The first step is to provide a valid pharmacy license for each jurisdiction the website…
LegitScript Emails Being Spoofed: Why You May Be Receiving Falsified Email Notifications
At LegitScript, we pride ourselves on helping to keep the internet safe. Last year alone, we worked closely with registrars to help take down more than 20,000 rogue internet pharmacy domain names in the interest of public health. Unfortunately, our line of work sometimes makes us the target of bad actors — the same people…