Dubious online pharmacies are putting the health and wealth of customers at
risk by operating without proper credentials and lacking even the most basic
e-commerce security features.
The claims were made in online brand management company
MarkMonitor's
latest Brandjacking Index report, a quarterly study which measures the effect of
online threats to brands.
Research was based on electronic analysis of 3,160 online pharmacies and 60
million email solicitations from a variety of sources, captured over a four-week
period in June.
"The data shows that 'brandjackers' are profoundly exploiting brands, using
increasingly sophisticated tactics," said Irfan Salim, president and chief
executive at MarkMonitor.
"In the case of the pharmaceutical industry, this poses an outright danger to
consumers through questionable practices that indicate counterfeiting and grey
markets.
"Caveat emptor on the part of consumers is not a sufficient response. Brand
holders must shoulder the responsibility of protecting their brands online from
the highly-developed and ever-evolving threats that 'brandjackers' pose."
Researchers found that only four of the 3,160 online pharmacies studied were
accredited as
Verified
Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites, the industry credential that assures
consumers of legitimate online pharmacy operations.
Ten per cent of the online pharmacies studied clearly state that no
prescription is required to purchase the drugs.
Nearly six out of 10 of these sites were hosted in the US, and 18 per cent in
the UK.
As well the health risks associated with self-medicating and taking drugs
from an unverified source, over half of the online pharmacies investigated do
not secure customer data, putting personal information at risk.
The majority do not use SSL encryption, and more than 20 per cent of
post-purchase emails captured in the MarkMonitor analysis contained links to
unencrypted customer data.
"Criminals continue to show remarkable adaptability and flexibility as they
take advantage of the internet to hijack well-known brands to steal funds, rob
identities, launch profit centres for counterfeit and grey-market goods and
conduct other nefarious activities," said Frederick Felman, chief marketing
officer at MarkMonitor.
Doctors have warned that the use of these online pharmacies can be extremely
dangerous for a number of reasons.
As well as the obvious risk of taking drugs from unknown sources, there is
the potential danger of self-medicating, such as unpredictable side effects,
mis-diagnosis and unknown interactions between different drugs.
Dr Paul Cundy, a GP and member of the
British
Medical Association's joint IT committee, told
vnunet.com:
"The problem is that you do not know what you are buying, who you are buying it
from or what is in it.
"Counterfeit drugs are prolific. There is no guarantee that what it says on
the box is what is in the box. By using online pharmacies customers have none of
the regulatory guarantees offered by UK legislation."
Do you agree?
Have your say on this article