News & Updates
The Latest on Internet Pharmacies, Supplements, Designer Drugs,
and Other High-Risk Merchants
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…
Q&A With Infinity Behavioral Health Services: Mastering Revenue Cycle Management in Behavioral Healthcare
Behavioral healthcare is a wide-reaching discipline that addresses the emotions, behaviors, and biology relating to a person’s mental well-being. At its core, behavioral healthcare looks at how behaviors impact a person’s health, including but not limited to issues such as mental health and substance use. As more people turn to behavioral healthcare for both preventative…
Are Synthetic Cannabinoids Behind Recent Vaping-related Lung Injuries?
As of early December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 48 deaths and nearly 2,300 hospitalizations associated with e-cigarettes and vaping. While the CDC has identified many brands responsible for the outbreak, there is still considerable uncertainty about what substance in vaping products is causing these illnesses. New research has left…