The global online pharmacy market is projected to generate over $100 billion by 2025, and it’s not difficult to see why. For those with mobility issues or busy lives, having prescription medication delivered to our door is invaluable — and online pharmacies help us get that done.
There is an issue, however, and it’s that not every online pharmacy is legit. Some are actually scams, whether they send you the wrong medicine or never send you any at all.
So how do you tell a legit online pharmacy from a scam? Look for these things.
Check With Your Health Insurance
Your health insurance should have a list of what they cover when you’re buying medications — or, more specifically, the places they cover.
Not every pharmacy is going to be on this list, so it’s not a foolproof method for checking if an online pharmacy is legit. However, if it’s on there, you know they definitely are.
If they’re not covered by your health insurance, you should look further into things before making a purchase.
Use a Pharmacy Checker
Another instant way to tell if a pharmacy is legit is by using an online checker. These sites verify pharmacies by ensuring they have the following things:
- Prescriptions required
- Correct contact information on site
- Good security for customers
- Compliance with the correct laws
If these sites have the pharmacy listed, it means they’re legitimate.
If the pharmacy you’re looking at isn’t covered by your health insurance and hasn’t been certified by any of these sites, you’ll have to do a bit of a deeper dive into making sure they’re legit.
Look for a Physical Address
When looking for a reputable online pharmacy, you should look for a physical address. They may be online, but there should still be a brick-and-mortar location.
Some online scams aren’t based in the U.S., so won’t even be able to provide a physical address because they’re a foreign pharmacy that’s actually fake. If the address is a P.O. box, this is another big red flag.
Although you won’t be visiting that physical location, they should still have one.
Investigate the Contact Information
As well as the physical address, you should check that the contact information is up to date.
An e-mail isn’t the most legitimate, but a phone number is a good place to start. Call and check that the pharmacy actually has up-to-date contact info on their website, and isn’t simply posting fake numbers that they hope people never call.
If the pharmacy is on a site like an online checker, then this has likely already been checked. However, if you’re doing your own investigating to work out whether a pharmacy is legit, the phone number is a good place to start.
Check Out Reviews
Checking out reviews is one of the best things you can do when using any service online.
Google, Yelp, and/or Facebook should all have a variety of reviews. Every business has to start somewhere, of course, but with medication, it’s important not to take chances. Use an online pharmacy that’s been around for a while and has a wealth of reviews.
Unfortunately, some scams will write a lot of fake reviews and post them up so it looks like their cheap prescriptions are legit when they’re not. Take the time to read the reviews and make sure they seem genuine.
You can also look at the lower-rated reviews to see if they’re there for good reason. If a pharmacy has five hundred reviews that are all five-star, there’s a little unrealistic. They should, however, have a good overall rating.
Compare Prices
Although we all want affordable prescription medication, you should be realistic when choosing a pharmacy. Scams will lure people in by posting very cheap prices on their website, which will make you eager to hop on the deal.
If the medicine is priced much lower than anywhere else, it’s a big sign of a red flag. You may not actually get anything posted to you, or it may be a fake version of the medicine.
While we’d all love our medicine to be the cheapest it possibly can be, you should check you’re actually going to be getting what you need.
Make Sure a Prescription’s Required
The last thing you should do is make sure a prescription is required to purchase the medicine.
It can seem easy and hassle-free to find an online pharmacy where no prescriptions are required and you simply choose what you want. This is actually against the law for prescription-only medicines and is a big sign that the pharmacy is either fake or not operating under the laws that it should be.
If you need medication, make sure you have your prescription ready and that the pharmacy actually asks for it. Otherwise, the place might be a scam.
Now You Can Find a Legit Online Pharmacy
This is how to find a legit online pharmacy. Check if they’re covered by your health insurance and verified by a third-party site. If they aren’t, be wary and check out the address and contact information, make sure a prescription is required, and do a deep-dive into Google for reviews and testimonials.
If in doubt, find another pharmacy. There are plenty of online pharmacies available and remember, if the price seems too good to be true, it’s because it probably is.
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