ScamWatch, an Australian government Web site dedicated to protecting consumers, offers the following five warning signs that you’ve received a pharmacy spam e-mail –

1. You receive an unsolicited email offering cheap or hard-to-get pills or treatments. Often, these emails will promote well-known drugs such as Prozac or Viagra.

2. The subject title of the email has nothing to do with the products on offer.

3. The words in the email are spelt incorrectly or have apostrophes and spaces in the middle of the words. This is done to try to avoid anti-spam filters.

4. The email or website will sell you drugs that you would normally need a prescription for, even if you don’t have a prescription.

5. The pharmacy’s website is based overseas or does not include a contact telephone number or street address.

The site also recommends the follow seven ways to protect yourself –

1. Use your common sense: the offer may be a scam.

2. Be very careful about offers for medicines, supplements or other treatments: always seek the advice of your health care professional.

3. Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them.

4. Do not click on any links in a spam email, or open any files attached to them.

5. Never call a telephone number that you see in a spam email.

6. Check the website address carefully. Scammers often set up fake websites with very similar addresses.

7. Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.

In searching for an online pharmacy you can trust, you’ve no doubt come across various seals and certifications on Web sites. Why are such seals important?  And how do you know whether they are legitimate?

When it comes to Canadian pharmacies, a seal isn’t technically necessary for a pharmacy to be above board.  All the pharmacy needs is the approval of its provincial government, which inspects pharmacies and awards the legitimate ones with licenses.  You can generally verify that a pharmacy has a license by visiting the appropriate Canadian government Web site.

However, to make things easier for you, a number of verification authorities have emerged that do this work for you.  Here is an overview of these verification authorities:

PharmacyChecker.com.  PharmacyChecker.com is the verification authority that Google uses in determining what pharmacies are allowed to advertise on its network.  PharmacyChecker ensures that a pharmacy Web site dispenses through a licensed pharmacy; that it has a valid address and phone number on its site; that it protects the privacy of your personal medical information; and that it also protects your financial information.  

CIPA.  The Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) was formed in 2002 to represent licensed Canadian pharmacies that sell prescription drugs to Americans by mail order. CIPA is the only national association of international pharmacies in Canada. CIPA members are licensed brick and mortar pharmacies that fill prescriptions for both Canadian and American patients.  CIPA has testified before the U.S. Congress and state legislatures to promote legalizing the cross-border trade and to address safety issues.

MIPA.   The Manitoba International Pharmacists Association (MIPA) is a professional association of licensed pharmacists, pharmacy students, and others dedicated to the provision of safe and affordable distance care for the improvement of health and well being of individuals of all ages from around the world. MIPA offers accreditation to licensed mail-order and Internet pharmacies based in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

All of these organizations do a wonderful job, and a Canadian pharmacy Web site that legitimately carries one of their seals is worthy of your patronage.

Unfortunately, many scam pharmacies, such as no prescription pharmacies, carry seals fraudulently, or create fake seals from non-existent verification organizations.

Here’s an example of a legitimate CIPA seal (top) and a fake seal (bottom):

 
You can be assured that all Canadian pharmacies in our network have been verified by PharmacyChecker as well as CIPA and/or MIPA.  We’ll show you how to confirm the legitimacy and license of every pharmacy in our network.

Once you join us, you’ll never have to worry about your safety when ordering online again.

Don’t take chances — join today!

As rumors swirl that pop superstar Michael Jackson may have been killed by an accidental overdose of Demerol, Diprivan and other medications, it is ironic that shady prescription drug pushers are still abusing the King of Pop, even after his death.

That’s right. No-prescription pharmacy scammers are using Michael Jackson’s death as the bait in their latest spam e-mail campaigns.

According to the Xinhua news agency:

Computer security firms are warning users to be vigilant about spam messages capitalizing on the sudden death of U.S. pop star Michael Jackson. Security firm Sophos … reported that about eight hours after Jackson’s death, its experts witnessed the first wave of spam messages taking advantage of the breaking news in the subject line and body of the email.

In these messages, the spammers claimed that they have vital information about the death of Michael Jackson to share and asked for a reply … [Experts] said users should be wary of spam emails offering links to “news” or “pictures” of deceased celebrities, which most of the time will lead to websites touting pharmacy products …

The spammers have outdone themselves again.