The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on online pharmacies. Just last week, CNN reported the FDA shut down nearly seventeen-hundred online pharmacies for selling counterfeit or substandard prescription medications.
The shutdown resulted in 58 arrests and nearly $41 million dollars worth of seized illegal drugs.
Many consumers are fooled by the faux online pharmacy retailer names similar to legitimate pharmaceutical businesses. For example, the official web page for large U.S. pharmacy retailer chain Walgreens is Walgreens dot com.
But FDA found another pharmacy using the same large chain name for their website titled Walgreens-store dot com.
CNN reports the most commonly scammed drugs are Levitra, Viagra, Avandaryl and Celebrex.
Experts advise consumers to make sure the website they use asks for a valid prescription. To find out if your online pharmacy is approved and safe to order from, visit the NABPs website at N-A-B-P-DOT-NET.