Bing Hosting Spam Ads for Counterfeit Drugs

MxLogic.com on August 6, 2009 reported that Microsoft's Bing search engine hosts sponsored ads for online pharmacies of the type that generate spam to sell drugs illegally, according to a report from LegitScript.com, an online pharmacy verification service, and KnujOn.com, an internet compliance company.

• The websites issued a report saying that an analysis of sponsored search results for internet pharmacies displayed on bing.com turned up ads that were nearly 90 percent for spam internet pharmacies that could be connected to organized crime.


• KnujOn, an anti-spam company that says it has removed over 100,000 spam websites from the web, said the spam pharmacy sites are typically connected "organized crime and vast illicit drug networks, many of them based in Russia and Eastern Europe."

XStream encourages all to only buy prescriptions from known and licensed pharmacies. The only type of internet purchasing of pharmaceuticals should be with pharmacies that have regular “brick and mortar” licensed pharmacies in your area. If any pharmacy does not require a prescription from your physician it is likely to be unlicensed and the medication that it sells you counterfeit or adulterated material.

To view the MxLogic.com report visit: http://www.mxlogic.com/securitynews/spam/bing-hosting-spam-ads-for-counterfeit-drugs405.cfm

Pharmacy Industry and Regulatory Mimic Our Warning During This Flu Epidemic

Earlier this week, XStream warned in several of its blogs about the risks of scammers, spammers and counterfeiters taking advantage of the Swine Flu Pandemic to exploit the public into buying their disreputable fakes and forgeries on-line.

It would appear that now healthcare officials around the globe are similarly offering their own warnings to the public at large. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) is offering their warning in an article that appeared in healthcarepublic.com news.

David Pruce, Director of Policy at the RPSGB stated: “ With the current fears about swine flu, we are concerned that unscrupulous people are exploiting the public’s fears about swine flu by offering to sell the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza over the internet. This is a golden opportunity for counterfeiters to offer fake supplies of these drugs. People can be at real risk if they buy medicines from unknown sources.”

As stated before, it is critical that consumers and those within the supply chain use common sense and professional ethics when dealing with this global epidemic. Many are out to scam you with fraudulent product:

1. Only buy from legitimate pharmacies, licensed in your state or country.

2. Do not buy from any on-line pharmacy that does not require a prescription.

3. If the price or deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

4. Professionals within the supply chain should only deal with the drug manufacturers or reputable suppliers.

5. They should have a verified pedigree of the product and verify the authenticity of the drug with a materials identification system.

6. Distributors and Providers should not be accepting returns on these products during this pandemic.

In the 21st century we live in a global economy that is connected at light speed via the internet. There are few barriers to being caught up in these scams outside of your own common sense. Buyer beware!