Before we begin, a confession of bias. We are an online pharmacy that offers consumers worldwide what we believe are superior services in supplying legitimate pharmaceutical products for nearly eighteen years. But this isn’t a blog about why we’re the best out there (although we are happy to throw our hat in the ring). Rather, this piece is intended to help health consumers worldwide recognize the differences between a legitimate online pharmacy and the ballooning fringe industry – a market that has proliferated in the wake of the COVID-19 scare.Â
Some real dangers exist with bogus or unregulated online pharmacies; sub-standard products, unreasonable prices, compromising customers’ privacy, or failure to deliver what customers have paid for. We hope the information here will help you and those you care about to make informed decisions about how and where your purchase your medications.Â
How do you recognize that an online pharmacy meets the definition of legitimacy?
The following information is based on official material from worldwide advisory bodies. It summarizes the primary points consumers should remember as they identify a legitimate online pharmacy and wean out the bad ones. Positive signs of a legitimate operation are when the pharmacy:- Requires a digital prescription from a registered medical doctor for all prescription medications
- Is licensed in a country or state that has an accessible central pharmacy registration website
- Offers live chat or interaction channels to access the pharmacist
- Operates with complete digital integrity (via an SSL-secured https: internet website exclusively)
- Has a solid service history to local and internet customers and offers verified testimonials from actual users Â
- Is open and honest about where it is located, not hiding behind a postbox address and hosted web platforms that disguise the country of origin
- Does not require a doctor’s prescription or will accept a photocopy (easy to forge or duplicate)
- Does not name or provide direct access to a licensed pharmacist on call to answer your questions
- Sends medicine with a different generic name than what you would receive from a local pharmacy
- Delivers in broken or damaged packaging, has no expiration date, or is expired
- Does not provide a patient information insert that includes an English version
- Offers products at prices that seem too good to be true
- Accepts orders for products but fails to deliver in a reasonable time
- Does not provide explicit written protections for your personal and financial information
- Does not offer a guarantee never to sell your information to other websites
- Does not provide a traceable physical address that identifies the country of residence.
What are the dangers of working with fake online pharmacies?
Buying goods on the internet carries inherent risks, and most people acknowledge that not having a face-to-face interaction between buyer and seller can present potential hazards. In general terms, these revolve around financial security, and the main concerns are:- Receiving value for money – the goods delivered may differ from what was represented on the website (quality, quantity, fit for use, etc.)
- Receiving what was ordered – all internet vendors demand money up-front, so failure to deliver can lead to lengthy delays in getting refunds and even to total loss
- Security of personal payment data – payment by credit card opens a door for data exploitation.
