Health scams
There are plenty of websites out there that will take advantage of consumers looking for a quick fix for minor to serious health issues. Health and medical product scams offer you products at much lower prices than high street pharmacies. You may or may not receive the product after you’ve paid for it or you might receive a product that is poor quality and possibly even harmful to your health. Some websites will make false claims that certain products, medicines and treatments can bring about a ‘miracle’ health cure.
Fake online pharmacies
Scammers have been known to set up fake pharmacy websites designed to look like legitimate operators. Medicines and drugs are offered at very cheap prices or without the need for a prescription from a doctor. Prescription-only medicine requires a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. You should not use medicine that hasn’t been prescribed for you as it may be dangerous. Even if you buy a medicine you have been prescribed, what you receive from these websites may not be the real thing.
What to look out for
Unsolicited emails offering cheap or hard-to-get pills or treatments.
Pharmacy websites based overseas or that do not include a contact telephone number or street address, making it difficult to sort out an issue if anything goes wrong.
Whether there is any scientific evidence to back up the claim that the product actually works.
What to do
DO NOT access an online pharmacy site through a link in an unsolicited email. Delete it.
BE SUSPICIOUS of uninvited emails or pop-up boxes offering you unbelievable deals. Delete them.
DO NOT OPEN suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam) and do not click on or open any files attached to them. Delete them.
All pharmacies in the UK, including those providing internet services, must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and meet their standards for registered pharmacies.
The General Pharmaceutical Council maintains an extensive pharmacy register. If you click on the Registered Pharmacy logo on a website, it will take you to a web page where you can verify if the website is legal. If it’s not, you can report the suspected scam.
There is also an EU-wide scheme. The EU logo looks like this:
5.2 Cyber security and recognising scams