This care card's answer
Check the process as well as the page.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. consumer protection agency, cautions that official-looking seals and guarantees can be faked.
As of September 26, 2026, a pharmacy needed a valid prescription to dispense prescription medicine under federal law.
Ask for names you can check.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the U.S. medicine regulator.
FDA has found fraudulent compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide whose labels named nonexistent pharmacies or pharmacies that had never made those products.
Ask for the dispensing pharmacy's full name. Look it up with the state board. Resolve a name mismatch before relying on the service's description.
Treat a discount as a reason to ask more.
An unusually steep discount is a concern listed by FDA; a low price by itself cannot prove fraud by a service.
Check what the charge covers, what product is proposed and who can answer questions. Ask for clear written payment and privacy terms.
Take this to the conversation
Which licensed pharmacy dispenses this, and who can answer questions once it arrives?
Ask for the answer in plain words. Keep it with your visit notes.
Notes behind this answer
- FTC: checking online health offers
The FTC warns that seals and guarantees can be faked. The linked FTC page uses VIPPS, an old name for a private pharmacy checking programme. Use the state pharmacy licence record to check the pharmacy.
- FDA: checks for an online pharmacy
Explains process checks as well as website appearance.
- FDA: false labels and follow-up concerns
Documents pharmacy-name problems in compounded products.