Patient safety · Online enforcement
Taking illegal online pharmacies offline.
RxProtect identifies rogue pharmacy websites and works with the hosting providers and domain registrars that serve them to shut them down.
The problem
Most online pharmacies aren't pharmacies at all.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy reports that roughly 95% of websites selling prescription drugs online operate out of compliance with pharmacy laws and practice standards.
Counterfeit & substandard drugs
Products may contain the wrong dose, no active ingredient, or dangerous contaminants like fentanyl.
No prescription, no oversight
Controlled and prescription-only medicines are sold to anyone, with no pharmacist and no medical review.
Fraud & stolen data
Many rogue sites exist to harvest payment details and personal health information.
How we work
Evidence first. Then the people who can act.
Illegal pharmacies depend on infrastructure: a domain name and a server. We document the violation and bring it to the companies whose terms of service those sites are breaking.
Identify
We find suspect sites through monitoring, search, spam traps, and reports from the public and industry.
Verify
Each site is reviewed against published criteria and checked against licensing databases before any action.
Notify
We send a documented abuse notice to the site's hosting provider and domain registrar.
Follow up
We track each case through resolution and escalate to regulators where appropriate.
Our criteria
What makes a pharmacy site illegal?
We only act when a site shows clear signs of operating unlawfully. Legitimate, licensed pharmacies are never the target of our notices.
Every notice includes the specific criteria met and the supporting evidence, so recipients can verify our findings independently.
- No valid prescription requiredPrescription-only medicines are dispensed without a prescription from a licensed prescriber.
- Unlicensed operationNo verifiable pharmacy license in the jurisdictions the site ships to.
- Controlled substancesSells scheduled drugs such as opioids, benzodiazepines, or stimulants online without lawful authorization.
- Unapproved or counterfeit productsOffers drugs not approved by the relevant regulator, or misrepresents their origin.
- Hidden identityNo physical address, no named pharmacist, or false claims of accreditation.
For hosting providers & registrars
Received a notice from RxProtect?
Thank you for reviewing it. Most providers' acceptable use policies, and registrar obligations under ICANN agreements, prohibit using their services for illegal activity, including the unlawful sale of medicines.
What we send
Each notice identifies the domain, the criteria violated, and the evidence: dated screenshots, page captures, and licensing lookups.
Every case has a reference number you can quote in replies.
Questions or more evidence
If you need more information to act on a notice, reply to it or contact our abuse desk with the case reference.
Disputes
If you or your customer believe a notice was sent in error, such as for a licensed pharmacy, tell us. We review every dispute and withdraw notices that don't hold up.
For patients
How to buy medicine online safely.
Safe online pharmacies exist. Here's how to tell them apart from the rest.
- It requires a valid prescription from your doctor.
- It's licensed in your state or country, and you can verify it.
- It lists a physical address and phone number.
- A licensed pharmacist is available to answer questions.
- Prices aren't dramatically below every other pharmacy.
- It doesn't arrive in your inbox as spam.
Report a site
Seen a suspicious pharmacy website?
Send us the URL and anything you know about it: how you found it, what it's selling, and any emails you received. Reports are confidential.
report@rxprotect.org