North Carolina News Station Warns about Counterfeit Prescription Drugs for Sale Online

A Greensboro, North Carolina news station, WFMY News2, is warning viewers that the Internet is filled with fake online pharmacies that sell counterfeit drugs. In the television segment accompanying the story, WFMY shared surveillance images of a suspected drop-shipper posting up to 80 packages of counterfeit medications a day.

The U.S. Postal Inspector WFMY spoke to described the state of the medication being shipped, “They were receiving packages with pills in them that were in ziploc bags, they weren’t marked with what they were, they had no instructions with them.” In the accompanying video, he also demonstrates clearly that the medication packages had no instructions, did not list side-effects, nor warnings of any kind.  Many were shipped in plain plastic bags.

A search warrant executed at the drop-shipper’s home turned up numerous pills, credit card numbers, and a variety of passports.

The WFMY report points out that genuine online pharmacies require valid prescriptions, but according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), 89% of illegal online pharmacies do not require a prescription. Failure to require a prescription is, in their words, “a big red flag.”

You can still save money when shopping for your medication. Try these suggestions for saving money safely:

• GoodRX.com can help you buy finding the lowest price on your particular medication.  Try their easy-to-use search engine to find a safe source for the medication you need at a local pharmacy..
• NeedyMeds has a wealth of resources available for finding prescription discounts on your needed medication. They also offer a drug discount card that provides broad-based medication discounts at participating pharmacies.
• The NABP maintains an up-to-date list of all safe and legal online pharmacies.
• Legitscript can help you determine if the online pharmacy you are thinking of using is a valid pharmacy.

Watch the entire WFMY News story here.