If you use Google.com to search online for prescription pharmaceuticals, you might get scammed. And unlike most Internet scams, this one could cost you more than money—it could cost you your health or even your life.

Online shoppers often trust merchants that appear near the top of Google’s rankings when they search for products. But when you enter the name of a prescription pharmaceutical plus the words “buy” or “prescription” into Google, it’s likely that some of the sites near the top of the list will sell counterfeit drugs. Also, Google lets sites buy ads that run above the search results, and many counterfeit-prescription-drug merchants take advantage by buying ads.

The dangers: Counterfeit drugs often don’t contain the correct dosages. Some don’t contain the correct active ingredients at all. And some are not only ineffective but harmful.

Example: FDA investigators purchased the prescription flu drug Tamiflu from an online seller. What they received not only didn’t contain Tamiflu’s active ingredient oseltamivir, it did contain an ingredient not found in genuine Tamiflu that can cause fatal allergic reactions.

When counterfeit drugs are taken to control a serious long-term condition, it might not be obvious that the drugs aren’t working until it’s too late.

There are financial risks as well—an online merchant unethical enough to sell fake drugs also might misuse its customers’ credit card information.

Avoiding fakes: If you wish to fill a prescription online, it’s best to do so through the Web site of a well-known pharmacy chain. Certainly avoid any pharmacy site that…

  • Doesn’t require a prescription to purchase prescription drugs.
  • Doesn’t have a pharmacist on duty who can be reached by phone.
  • Doesn’t list a physical street address.

Almost every major prescription pharmaceutical has counterfeit versions, but fakes are particularly common with prescription painkillers and drugs that treat erectile dysfunction
and sexually transmitted diseases.