| Protect Yourself From Online Fraud | | | | information is being sent over the Internet in plain text, |
| Being in the online medication industry for over two | | | | and anyone (including your ISP) could read it without |
| years has taught us much, but one of the most | | | | trouble. Is it really worth the risk? |
| important lessons we have learnt is how to tell a scam | | | | Also be careful about calling in to place your order, |
| pharmacy from a real pharmacy. You must be very | | | | because most call centers (especially those that are |
| vigilant in determining who you trust when you order | | | | outsourced) will place the order over the exact same |
| online. We suggest you take note of the following. | | | | website you would use online (secure or not), so if you |
| Do they have contact information readily available? | | | | think you are more secure over the phone that is not |
| Would you trust your medications when they come | | | | the case. In fact, we prefer to use the Internet |
| from a company you can only ever contact through | | | | ourselves since you never really know who the person |
| an email address? More than 90% of the online | | | | on the other end of the line is and what they are doing |
| pharmacies out there do not list phone numbers or | | | | with your information after you hang up. |
| addresses and this lack of contact information says | | | | Tracking Information for Orders |
| many things about the pharmacy: | | | | Do the websites provide tracking numbers for their |
| 1. We don't want to talk to you and | | | | orders? Most do, but there have been a few we |
| 2. We want to remain anonymous | | | | came across lately that were very suspicious about |
| But it doesn't stop at the phone number, because what | | | | how they do their business. They will provide you with |
| a lot of online pharmacies are doing nowadays is | | | | a tracking number, but the only way you can track the |
| outsourcing their call center to a 3rd party whose | | | | order is through their own website. They usually |
| primary job is just to take orders. This is important to | | | | provide a number of falsified reasons as to why this |
| take note of because when a company outsources its | | | | may be, but that is beside the point. The goal of these |
| call center they still separate themselves from the | | | | websites are to provide you with "hope" that the order |
| customers and maintain their degree of anonymity. | | | | is actually in transit on the way to you. In the mean |
| When you combine this with the fact that they can | | | | time they are waiting Visa/Mastercard to pay them |
| pick up and move their operation literally overnight; this | | | | the funds (there is sometimes up to a month delay |
| is a scary thing indeed. This is not to say that all | | | | from the day you pay with your credit card till the day |
| pharmacies that outsource are fraudulent, it is just | | | | the website owner receives their funds). Once these |
| something to take note of when you are doing your | | | | funds have been received they simply disappear. Of |
| due-diligence. | | | | course, maybe they will put extended shipping times |
| The next piece of information you want to look for is | | | | like 5-6 weeks to give them a little more time, but |
| the company's physical mailing address. The only | | | | whatever the case make sure that whichever |
| reason a company would not provide this piece of | | | | company you deal with will give you a tracking number |
| information is to once again hide their true identity | | | | for a service you can actually track yourself (FedEx, |
| location and this is a very common indication of fraud. | | | | DHL, USPS, etc). |
| Next time you visit a pharmacy be sure to click their | | | | No charges at all |
| "Contact" page and see what information they have | | | | This actually happened to a few of our customers and |
| available to contact them by. You may be very | | | | so we decided to update this page with the |
| surprised. | | | | information. Believe it or not, getting a merchant |
| How did you hear about the pharmacy? | | | | account (the ability to process MasterCard and Visa) |
| Where did you hear about the pharmacy? Obviously | | | | is not an easy task, even for a legitimate website. Just |
| the best way to hear about any pharmacy is from | | | | having one is not a basis for legitimacy, but it's a start. |
| word of mouth but when you are online that is not | | | | For those fraudulent websites that are either too lazy |
| always the case. There are so many ways to | | | | or incapable of acquiring such an account, they will just |
| advertise on the internet that weeding out the good | | | | throw up a website and "pretend" to charge you for |
| from the bad may seem daunting, but is rather quite | | | | the order. They will then save all your credit card |
| easy. The absolute worst place to hear about any | | | | details (and those of a few thousands other people) to |
| pharmacy is unsolicited email (otherwise known as | | | | be sold/used at a later date for some other types of |
| SPAM) and then next worst would probably be | | | | fraud. After you place an order with any new |
| pay-per-click (where pharmacies bid on keywords that | | | | company online, give your bank a call 2-3 days later |
| you search for), although if the pharmacy is bidding on | | | | and see if it was charged. If it has not been charged, |
| pay-per-click through Google Ad words (google.com) | | | | you may want to call the company and find out why. |
| or Overture (yahoo.com, msn.com, etc) then they now | | | | Some companies may just charge you when the |
| are required to participate in Square Trade (a licensing | | | | order is about to be shipped so it is not an immediate |
| body that governs online pharmacies and validates | | | | cause for alarm, but then again, you never know |
| their legitimacy) before they can advertise. These | | | | unless you ask. |
| pharmacies are supposed to be legit, but the screening | | | | Subscription Fees |
| process for them are certainly not perfect and on | | | | Probably one of the most common questions asked |
| more than one occasion we have encountered known | | | | when people call in are "Do I pay any subscription fees |
| fraudulent sites to pop up from time to time, so be | | | | to join your service?" There are quite a few sites |
| careful! | | | | selling subscriptions to their "service" that would allow |
| Other forms of advertising are banner ads and affiliate | | | | potential customers to view lists of "legitimate" |
| sites and these all must be taken with a BAG of salt. | | | | pharmacies carrying hard to find products that have |
| To put it in perspective, those are all "paid" | | | | been "fully verified". So we signed up to one of these |
| advertisements and there is no one verifying anything | | | | websites to see just what they would offer (after all it |
| they promote. The only reason one website would | | | | was only $25), and all they provided was a list of |
| advertise another website such as a pharmacy is to | | | | websites, nothing more, nothing less. So the next step |
| obtain a sort of commission in return. So if they are | | | | was to verify these websites against our list of SCAM |
| being paid to refer you to a pharmacy, the only thing | | | | resistant methods and let's just say we were not |
| they care about is which pharmacy will pay them the | | | | surprised when almost all of them failed one criteria or |
| most for the referral, not which pharmacy is the most | | | | the other, especially the criteria of them all being |
| legit. Think about that next time you take another | | | | affiliate related. One thing we were surprised with was |
| websites word for a "recommendation". | | | | the recurring monthly charge even after we cancelled |
| How many products? | | | | the service. In fact, we had to cancel the card before |
| This is not the be all end all of determining if a website | | | | those charges ended up stopping, so needless to say |
| is a scam, but most of the scam websites we come | | | | use these services at your own risk. |
| across all seem to share the characteristic of having | | | | Internet Scams a thing of the past? |
| less than 50 or 100 products in their inventory. Make | | | | Not anytime soon. It seems no matter how many |
| note of this when you arrive at the website, and make | | | | times these pharmacies are shut down; they just keep |
| note of the fact that it is a lot easier (and quicker) to | | | | popping up again and again under different names with |
| throw up a 50 product site than a 5000 product site. | | | | more and more ways to take your hard-earned |
| SSL Security | | | | money. As long as it remains profitable for them to do |
| In the day and age of Internet commerce you would | | | | so, they will always be there. Knowing this is the first |
| think that by now everyone passing personal | | | | step in protecting yourself. The next step is to have |
| information across the Internet would be doing so | | | | the latest tools and knowledge to weed through the |
| securely, but sadly that is just not the case. Whenever | | | | good from the bad, and that is what we are here to |
| you are visiting a site and are at a page where they | | | | help you do. We will update this page frequently with |
| are requesting information such as your credit card, | | | | more ways to protect yourself online so be sure to |
| make absolute sure they have an SSL certificate (little | | | | bookmark us and check back later. |
| lock at the bottom right hand corner of your browser) | | | | From all the staff at PharmacyEscrow.com, we wish |
| present, because if they do not you are just asking for | | | | you a happy (and safe!) shopping trip. |
| trouble. The lack of this symbol means that your | | | | |