News & Updates
The Latest on Internet Pharmacies, Supplements, Designer Drugs,
and Other High-Risk Merchants
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…
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…
The Who’s Who of Rogue Registrars
As more registrars move toward voluntary compliance, the walls continue to close in on rogue pharmacy operators. In a world without Nanjing Imperiosus Technology Co., Ltd., whose accreditation agreement was terminated in February 2017, rogue pharmacy operators are desperate to find long-term partners to sponsor their illicit activities. In recent months, we have identified thousands…
CanadaDrugs.com President and Five Others Arrested for Selling Fake Cancer Drugs
Update: This story has been updated. See License Reinstated for Canadian Pharmacist Who Sold Counterfeit Cancer Drugs to the US. Six men connected to the online pharmacy CanadaDrugs.com, including president and founder Kristjan Thorkelson, have been extradited to the United States and arrested for selling fake cancer drugs online. US federal prosecutors have accused the men…
Q2 Update: More Than 6,000 Rogue Internet Pharmacy Domain Names Suspended
Just as the weather is heating up, so is the pressure on rogue internet pharmacies as the internet community becomes increasingly unified in its efforts to stop them. In the past three months, LegitScript’s enforcement efforts have led to the suspension of more than 6,000 domain names that were used as illegal online pharmacies and…
Proof in Numbers: More Registrars Step Up to Illegal Online Pharmacies
In 2016, LegitScript worked together with registrars to successfully suspend more than 20,000 domain names used by rogue internet pharmacies. In the first quarter of 2017 alone, 6,000 more domains have been suspended. Operators of rogue internet pharmacies are starting to feel the burn. Now that Nanjing Imperiosus Technology Co. Ltd. (China) is out of…
Beware: New BestKenko Strategy Uncovered
LegitScript has published several articles on BestKenko network, the largest rogue pharmacy network targeting Japan. As we have discussed in previous blog articles, websites under the BestKenko network advertise and sell unapproved prescription medicines in violation of Japanese laws. They do not have a Japanese pharmacy license, and the medicines they sell have not been…
US Registrar Epik Plays Dangerous Game
These days it’s uncommon to encounter a registrar that doesn’t demonstrate the same internet safety and public health values as the majority of the internet community. But once in a while, we come across a registrar that chooses to enable rogue internet pharmacies by allowing them to continue using their domain name services, despite reported…