Blog Articles

Attracting new merchants is a delicate balance between due diligence and providing a seamless customer experience. Payment facilitators are encouraged to create a faster and more frictionless environment while bad actors use increasingly sophisticated tools.

LegitScript Certification is an important part of growing your business. We provide the only certification and monitoring service for US drug and alcohol addiction treatment providers that is relied on by Google, Microsoft, and Facebook to vet advertisers for eligibility. For pharmacies and other healthcare providers, our certification is recognized by Visa, Mastercard, Google, Microsoft…

Hosted by LegitScript, Marketplace Risk, and Merchant Risk Council, Online Risk & Compliance Day is an industry-wide day of education and networking for professionals working in merchant risk & compliance and in trust & safety. What should you know about this one-of-a-kind event? #1. It’s free. The day will feature more than four hours worth…

LegitScript increasingly encounters groups of related merchants whose websites are nearly exact duplicates of each other. We refer to these merchant groups as clusters, and they pose a variety of threats to merchant portfolios. Keep reading to understand what they are, why they appear, and how you can spot them. What are merchant clusters? Cluster…

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its second report on e-cigarette sales and advertising nationwide, and the findings are dramatic. According to the report, use of flavored vapes surged in 2020, when data was collected. It was also at this same time that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enacted a federal ban on…

On recent news that the White House is exploring the possibility of creating a federal task force to “explore the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapies” in the United States, certain psychoactive substances seem to be having a moment. Public awareness of these substances appears to be increasing in tandem with government interest; take, for example, the…

While misinformation and disinformation on social media frequently capture news headlines, other forms of information can pose reputational risks to internet platforms and potential harm to consumers or others around them. LegitScript has encountered users and merchants on social media platforms posting various types of instructions that may be framed as being for informational use…

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time issued warning letters regarding products that contain delta-8 THC. Letters were issued to five companies that were marketing products labeled as containing delta-8 THC in ways that, according to the FDA, violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Additionally,…

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. Our Domain Name Enforcement program has helped to stop more than 83,000 rogue pharmacy websites since its inception. In 2021 alone, LegitScript issued 65 notifications comprising 3,147 domain names. A…

Beginning in August 2021, LegitScript undertook a three-month project to analyze the value of domain name registrars suspending illicit internet pharmacies. In particular, we aimed to collect data on the impact suspensions have on organic search engine results for illicit internet pharmacies. Our findings indicate the important role registrars play in helping thwart public access…

Many cultures associate fair complexions with beauty, prosperity, and better socioeconomic status. As a result, skin lightening products, which typically come in the forms of creams, lotions, and soaps, are popular throughout the world with mostly female consumers. A simple search for “skin lightening cream” yields thousands of results for cosmetic products that can be…

According to the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), payday loans increase around the holidays, likely because many consumers need extra cash for holiday shopping or travel. It’s for this reason many online payday lenders make an aggressive marketing push during this season, and why payment service providers should be on the lookout for predatory lenders…

Veterans Day is a popular time for businesses to advertise to the military, including merchants offering predatory services. For this reason, it’s important for payment service providers to scrutinize merchants offering help with official services to ensure they aren’t taking advantage of customers. For example, some merchants offer to help retired military members process form…

Earlier this month we wrote about how decorative contact lenses are regulated by the FDA and can pose real risks if used improperly. But they aren’t the only threat to merchant portfolios and e-commerce platforms during the fall season. Halloween costumes themselves can present an additional potential danger: intellectual property infringement.  IP-infringing merchants often seek…

In early fall, it’s prime season for merchants selling Halloween costumes, theatrical makeup, and, increasingly, decorative contact lenses. Since these contact lenses typically have no vision-correction purposes, consumers and payment facilitators alike may not realize they are products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that pose real risks if used improperly.  Also called…