Be wary of fake online pharmacies, officials warn. Here’s how to tell they’re real
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders have led people online to fill prescriptions for anything from asthma to arthritis. Some are even hoping to get their hands on unapproved treatments for COVID-19.
Long before the pandemic hit, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state officials warned a large swath of those online pharmacies are fake.
Now they’re doubling down on the message.
“More than ever, consumers are relying on the Internet to purchase, in some cases, life-saving medications,” Marjorie Clifton said in a news release Wednesday. “But the average consumer is unaware of how common and how dangerous fake online pharmacies can be.”
Clifton is the executive director of the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies, a nonprofit founded in 2011 to address illegal online pharmacies.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, about 97% of online pharmacies are fake.
“Many online pharmacy scams are so sophisticated that even health care professionals can have a hard time detecting illegal sites at first glance,” the FDA says on its website.
A few warning signs include sites that permit customers to order medication without a prescription, discounts that are “too good to be true” and offers of global shipping or shipment from another country, according to the FDA.
Trustworthy online pharmacies should be licensed by a state board of pharmacy, list a physical U.S. address, require a prescription and have a state-licensed pharmacist to answer questions, the agency says.
There’s also an online tool to help consumers differentiate between what’s real and what’s fake.
In partnership with North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall, CSIP started a public awareness campaign Wednesday that encourages consumers to check whether an online pharmacy is credible by using the ”Verify Before You Buy” tool.
The website allows consumers to copy and paste the URL of an online pharmacy into its search bar and hit “verify” for authentication.
Sites like HoneyBeeHealth, for example, are listed as “certified by LegitScript.”
“Verify Before You Buy” has been around since before the novel coronavirus struck. About 50,000 people in North Carolina have already used it, according to Wednesday’s news release.
“But it will be even more critical during COVID,” the release states.
The FDA started sending warning letters to illegitimate online pharmacies back in 2011. According to its website, the agency has tacked on a few more every year since.
As the number of COVID-19 cases began to climb across the U.S., the agency has issued renewed warnings encouraging consumers to report illegal sites and be wary of places pandering supposed treatments or cures for the coronavirus.
You can report a fake online pharmacy using the FDA’s MedWatch reporting form here.
