Buying prescription drugs from an online pharmacy can save you money, time, and a lot of hassle. In fact, you may even be able to purchase drugs without a prescription, thus saving you on embarrassment if you don’t want to show your Viagra prescription to people. This is also the only way some people have of getting prescription medications—online pharmacies are often much less expensive, and for those on a budget, that can be the difference between getting medication and going without.

However, you have to be very careful when shopping at an online pharmacy. There are some scams out there, and there are some online pharmacies that actually sell fake or illegal drugs. You don’t want to get ripped off, and you don’t want to take anything that is unsafe. To that end, here are some dos and don’ts of using an online pharmacy.

Do:

Use only a licensed pharmacy. Check the pharmacy website for things like the seal from the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) or from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. If you have any doubt about the legitimacy of the pharmacy, you can contain the National Association and ask them to verify if the pharmacy has been certified by their inspectors. If it has not, do not purchase drugs from it.

Compare prices. Just like any product you purchase online or offline, you should shop around first before you purchase anything. Some websites offer cheaper prescription drugs than other sites do. In fact, your local traditional pharmacy may even have cheaper prices on some things. Don’t discount it just because it’s not an online store.

Make certain the online pharmacy has a registered pharmacist you can consult. If the online store is really legitimate, they will provide some form of contacting a registered pharmacist so you can ask questions before purchasing and taking drugs. If they don’t offer this, you may want to use a different online pharmacy.

Read the site’s privacy policy. One way of identifying fraudulent sites is that they will not include privacy and security policies regarding your information. Make certain they will not disclose your personal information to anyone. Also check for security seals that guarantee your credit card will be encrypted.

Be suspicious of deals that seem too good to be true. If you can’t find any pharmacy contact information, don’t see any legitimate organization seals of approval, or just have a bad feeling about a site, don’t use it.

Don’t:

Don’t use medication that is not approved by the FDA. You simply don’t know how they will react or what side effects they will have.

Don’t accept an email address as the only form of contact information. If there’s no physical address or at least a working phone number, don’t use the pharmacy.

Don’t believe online pharmacies that promise miracles.

Don’t let illegal online pharmacies get away with scamming people. If you find one that isn’t legitimate, report them to the proper authorities.

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