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CSIP Partners Help Shut Down Rogue Online Pharmacies

csip_slides_cuffs_laptop_counterfeitIllegitimate online pharmacies, including those that use domain names closely resembling reliable pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, put unsuspecting consumers at risk. Potentially dangerous products that were purchased on these sites may have caused illness, disability or even death.

Luckily, due to a seizure warrant issued by a United States District Court, and due to the actions of CSIP partners and government agencies, thousands of unscrupulous sites, including www.walgreens-store.com and www.c-v-s-pharmacy.com, have been shut down. The following are some recent notable efforts of CSIP partners, government agencies, and law enforcement, in shuttering illicit pharmacy websites:

  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) teamed up with 10 foreign law enforcement agencies to seize hundreds of domain names that were illegally selling counterfeit merchandise, including fake prescription drugs, online to unsuspecting consumers. During this operation, called Project Cyber Monday IV, 297 domain names were seized, bringing the total to 2,550 since June 2010.
  • The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) took on the issue of counterfeit drugs online with their new outreach campaign, which focuses on the role organized criminal networks play in the spread of counterfeit goods. The campaign draws attention to how counterfeits fund larger networks of criminal activity.
  • Last year, INTERPOL partnered with 29 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies to enhance the private sector’s ability to combat drug counterfeiting. The agency and its partners have had major successes in combating illicit drug sales online, including 80 arrests and the worldwide seizure of $10.5 million worth of potentially life-threatening drugs.
  • To date, actions taken against online pharmacies by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations have resulted in the seizure of more than $41 million worth of illegal drugs throughout the world.

CSIP members and partners have also been instrumental in flagging rogue online pharmacy domains and reducing illegal drug and pharmacy ads. In fact, through its partnership with CSIP, eNom has suspended thousands of domains operating illegally and flagged them to authorities. In addition, our members Google, Legitscript, and Microsoft have helped reduce illegal drug and pharmacy ads on major search engines by 99.9% since 2010. Please view our Results page for details, facts, and figures on how CSIP and its members are continuing to work with partners, government agencies, and law enforcement to shut down illegitimate online pharmacies.

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The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) and our 13 member companies have the shared goal of helping address the growing problem of consumer access to illegitimate pharmaceutical products on the Internet. Continue to read this blog for updates on CSIP’s education, enforcement and information-sharing efforts.