CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Everyone wants a good deal and often we find them online. You can even buy grocery items online and often times find the prescription and over the counter medicine you need at insanely low prices. However, you may also find yourself a victim of an internet scam.
RISKS:
Drugs could be placebos or faulty synthetic fakes, putting you and your loved ones in danger
Drugs could be expired or damaged by careless handling or improper storage
You could be turning over your personal information and credit card to a fraud ring
TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF:
- Only purchase from legitimate web sites and pharmacies you know
- Ask your Doctor for online pharmacies that they know and trust
- When in doubt, check in with the National Better Business Bureau
- Check sites such as the National Associations of Boards Pharmacy to ensure you are making safe purchases
Just to get an idea of how big of a criminal industry we are talking about here, it is believed that this market could range anywhere from $75-billion to as large as $200 billion.
WEB RESOURCES:
The National Associations of Boards Pharmacy can answer your questions at http://www.nabp.net/
You can check www.sitejabber.com to see if the site you are visiting has been reported for fraud. There is a great infographic there on the size of the internet drug scams at "How Big is the Counterfeit Drug Industry?", InfoGraphic of statistics on SiteJabber.com, Rich Johnson, posted February 1, 2011.
WORD FOR THE WEEK:
DRIBBBLE. This is a web site that is part game, part social media, part designer show case. Designers right now can participate via invitation only but anyone can sign up to be a spectator. Designers post their work along with a description and through gaming moves they can vote and play their design images to the top of the list.
If you want to be a spectator at Dribbble, go to: http://dribbble.com/ Spectators can request to be considered for drafting into the designer team to be able to post their work.
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