FDA, DEA struggle to take down rogue pharmacy websites

Oct 28

Lauren Taylor Reporter

By Lauren Taylor (Reporter), Alex Delia (Producer), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)

The FDA has issued a warning about the growing presence of fake online pharmacies selling drugs like oxycodone and Xanax through Google, exploiting search engine loopholes to mimic legitimate pharmacies. These rogue sites are targeting consumers with illegal drugs, often without requiring prescriptions, raising concerns about safety and abuse.

Kubapharm.com, one such site flagged by the FDA in 2022, continues to operate today. The website allows customers to buy fentanyl-laced pills without prescription verification.

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A recent video by The Washington Examiner demonstrated the ease of finding such dangerous sites through Google search results.

The video showed one person searching the internet for cocaine by looking up “buy cocaine.” The search showed a misleading .gov site for disaster assistance. However, that site had a link to another website that had contact information for a drug dealer.

Google’s algorithms block over 40 billion spam pages daily. However, an update in 2022 made it easier for malicious sites to create fake pages within reputable government domains. The tech company advises organizations to block internal search pages from appearing in results, yet loopholes allow some fake pharmacies to slip through.

Experts warn these trends put consumers at serious risk, potentially leading them to bypass traditional pharmacies entirely. Officials urge anyone seeking medication online to verify sites carefully, consult with a doctor and only buy from reputable, certified pharmacies.

Tags: Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug smuggling, Drugs, FDA, Google, Google search, Pharmaceutical, prescription drugs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, websites

[Lauren]

THE FDA WARNED THAT FAKE ONLINE PHARMACIES SELLING DRUGS LIKE OXYCODONE AND XANAX ARE SHOWING UP ON GOOGLE… USING SEARCH ENGINE LOOPHOLES TO LOOK LIKE TRUSTED PHARMACIES AND SELLING WITHOUT PRESCRIPTIONS.

ONE WEBSITE, KUBAPHARM.COM, WAS FLAGGED BY THE FDA BACK IN 2022 FOR SELLING DRUGS ILLEGALLY, BUT MORE THAN TWO YEARS LATER, IT’S STILL OPERATIONAL, LETTING CUSTOMERS ORDER FENTANYL-LACED PILLS WITHOUT EVER VERIFYING A PRESCRIPTION.

A VIDEO BY THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER SHOWS WHEN TYPING THE WORDS “BUY COCAINE” INTO GOOGLE’S SEARCH ENGINE, THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT DISASTER ASSISTANCE SITE SHOWS UP NEAR THE END OF THE FIRST PAGE RESULTS, COMPLETE WITH A DOT-GOV ADDRESS. WHEN CLICKING ON THE SEARCH RESULT, THEY WERE DIRECTED TO THE SEARCH PAGE ON DISASTER ASSISTANCE’S WEBSITE, WHICH INCLUDED INSTRUCTIONS ON WHERE TO GO TO BUY COCAINE, DIRECTING TO A SITE ADVERTISING CONTACT INFORMATION ON WHATSAPP AND TELEGRAM.

A 2022 GOOGLE ALGORITHM UPDATE MADE IT EASIER FOR THESE ROGUE SITES TO SHOW UP IN SEARCH RESULTS… USING SEO TECHNIQUES TO CREATE FAKE PAGES WITHIN ACTUAL GOVERNMENT WEBSITES. GOOGLE SAYS ITS SYSTEMS BLOCK 40 BILLION SPAM PAGES DAILY AND URGES ORGANIZATIONS TO BLOCK INTERNAL SEARCH PAGES FROM APPEARING IN SEARCH RESULTS… BUT FAKE PHARMACIES ARE STILL MAKING IT THROUGH.

EXPERTS WARN THIS TREND COULD LEAD MORE PEOPLE TO THESE DANGEROUS WEBSITES, BYPASSING TRADITIONAL PHARMACIES ENTIRELY. FOR NOW, OFFICIALS RECOMMEND EXTREME CAUTION WHEN SEARCHING FOR MEDICATION ONLINE, URGING PEOPLE TO CHECK WITH THEIR DOCTORS AND USE ONLY REPUTABLE SITES.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M LAUREN TAYLOR.

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