News & Updates
The Latest on Internet Pharmacies, Supplements, Designer Drugs,
and Other High-Risk Merchants
Enhanced Athlete CEO Pleads Guilty to Felony Related to Online Sale of Dangerous Substance
The CEO of Enhanced Athlete, Inc., a California-based dietary supplement distributor, pleaded guilty late last month to a felony related to the marketing and sale of DNP, a dangerous substance used by bodybuilders and others for weight-loss purposes. The plea made by Scott Cavell came just weeks after a criminal conviction in a UK court…
Bing Adopts LegitScript Addiction Treatment Certification Standards
I’m happy to announce that, starting in March, Bing will require LegitScript certification for providers of drug and alcohol addiction treatment who want to advertise in the United States. The certification program, which launched in July 2018, is now recognized by Bing, Google, and Facebook for addiction treatment providers looking to advertise. According Melissa Alsoszatai-Petheo,…
Drop-shipping Clusters Pose an Elevated Fraud Risk
If you’ve read our Drop-shipping FAQ Guide, you know that drop-shipping merchants pose an elevated risk because of increased chargebacks and the potential for transaction laundering. But are you aware of drop-shipping clusters and the increased likelihood they are engaged in fraud? Learn about this danger that may be in your portfolio, hiding in plain…
A Recent Surge of Synthol Online Increases Risk for Payments and E-commerce
Most payment service providers are smart enough to be on the lookout for rogue merchants selling steroids or SARMs for use in bodybuilding. But what they may not be aware of are merchants selling synthol, a potentially dangerous injectable masquerading as a harmless topical. Although synthol and other products like it have been around for…
Three Things Payment Service Providers Need to Know About CBD Sales
The 2018 Farm Bill, which was signed into law last month, includes provisions removing hemp and its extracts, including hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), from the DEA’s Controlled Substances schedules entirely. This is a monumental shift for industrial hemp and CBD in the US, and it promises big opportunities for CBD merchants and the payment facilitators that…
How Will the FDA’s New Dietary Supplement Working Group Affect You?
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced last month a new working group to improve oversight of the dietary supplement industry. The move could mean increased safety for consumers, but also increased scrutiny of dietary supplement merchants and the payment facilitators that onboard them. An Unwieldy Industry In a speech at the Food and…
The Top High-risk Payments Trends for 2019
The constantly changing landscape of online payments can be difficult for payment facilitators to keep up with. This year, technological advancements, criminal innovation, and shifting consumer interests shifted the types of problematic merchants most likely to pop up in portfolios. LegitScript tracked the data this year to identify which merchants may cause payment facilitators the…
Why LegitScript Won’t Be in Attendance at This Week’s Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat
LegitScript was scheduled this week to attend and speak at the Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona. This national conference, which is organized by The Institute for the Advancement of Behavioral Healthcare, brings together owners and senior executives from the addiction treatment and recovery community to meet with key members of the…
The Spread of Online Intellectual Property Infringement Should Worry Payment Providers and Consumers
This week, Europol’s Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition announced the seizure of more than 33,000 domain names distributing counterfeit and pirated items online. The websites marketed and sold items such as counterfeit goods, pirated entertainment, software, electronics, and other bogus products. The operation involved the cooperation of the US National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center…
Watch Out for Fraud Through Unauthorized Aggregation
This week, a New Jersey couple and a homeless veteran were arrested and charged with conspiracy and theft by deception for an alleged fraud scheme on the online crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. According to NPR, the three raised $400,000 from more than 14,000 donors based on an allegedly fabricated story of a Good Samaritan. It’s the latest high-profile scam to draw attention to online aggregators and the risks they pose for payment facilitators.