STUDY: 89.7% PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADVERTISEMENTS SPONSORED BY BING.COM ARE ILLEGAL OR DON’T REQUIRE A PRESCRIPTION
Pharmaceuticals purchased via Microsoft advertisements test positive as counterfeit
Update! August 14, 2009
Bing Illicit Pharmacy Ads Still Available Dispite Claims
Last week in response to the report published by LegitScript and KnujOn
(http://legitscript.com/BingRxReport.pdf),
Microsoft's AdCenter released this
response.
In which they claimed to have removed the illicit ads and questioned the accuracy of our report.
Since the AdCenter response was posted LegitScript and KnujOn have found many of the same rogue pharmacy advertisements on Bing and we were able to obtain more drugs from these ads without a prescription.
In fact, one of the Bing Pharmacy Ads was for a rogue pharmacy we had warned Microsoft about six months ago.
Full press release: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2749434.htm
Full Report: http://www.knujon.com/BingFollowUp.pdf
Running Commentary: http://www.legitscript.com/blog/101
Original Report Below
Even an image search for a drug name on Bing produces links to illcit pharamcies, this one
has "No Prior Prescription" in the help text of the image!
Articles
Rogue Pharmacies Dominate Bing's Ads(technologyreview.com)
Most Microsoft Bing-Sponsored Search Ads Point To Phony Pharmacies(darkreading.com)
Fraud groups ding Bing for illicit pharmacy promos(theregister.co.uk)
Report: Microsoft Bing benefits from illegal pharmaceutical sales(computerworld.com)
Bing And Rogue Pharmacy Ads?(digitaltrends.com)
Does Bing 'Find' Illicit Meds Sites?(internetnews.com)
Bing blasted for pushing rogue RX advertisements(thetechherald.com)
Microsoft Bing Benefits from Ads for Illegal Online Pharmacies(eweek.com)
90% Of Bing’s Internet Pharmacies Search Ads Lead To Rogue Sites(searchengineland.com)
Bing in the dock over rogue pharmacy site ads(bx.businessweek.com)
Microsoft Bing Enables Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Sales(blog.pharmtech.com)
90% of Bing's online drug ads lead to rogue pharmacies(arstechnica.com)
Microsoft's Bing invaded by pharmaceutical scammers(blogs.zdnet.com)
Microsoft Slammed Over Bing's Sponsored Online Drug Ads(pcworld.com)
Criminal Prescription: Fake Pharmacies Haunt Bing(news.google.com)
9 in 10 US drug ads on Bing are illegal- report (netimperative.com)
Fake Pharm Ads Flood Bing, Microsoft Benefits: Report(infopackets.com)
Bing Selling Fake Viagra Says Knujon(ukmedix.com)
Are Bing Searches Still Turning Up Illicit Meds?(internetnews.com)
Bing’s Illegal Rogue Pharmacy Ads: “Online Street Corners”(chattahbox.com)
Microsoft Allows Illegal Online Pharmacies to Advertise on Bing(choosehelp.com)
Microsoft Bing a Haven for Illegal Pharmacy Ads(itbusinessedge.com)
Criminals Operating Unlawful Online Pharmacies Through Microsoft’s Bing(cyberinsecure.com)
Microsoft AdCenter On Illegal Pharmacy Ads(searchnewz.com)
New report from LegitScript.com and KnujOn.com
Among our findings in the 59-page report:
- 89.7% of Internet pharmacy advertisements on bing.com that we reviewed are operating unlawfully. (Of the other 10.3%, about half are verified as legitimate, and half are "unverified" according to our standards.)
- The majority of Internet pharmacy ads, and all ten of the sample ads that we dissected, did not require a valid (or any) prescription. We successfully attempted a test buy in two cases, receiving drugs in both cases that appeared to come from India.
- Some of the drugs sold via bing.com ads tested positive as counterfeit.
- Most of the Internet pharmacy advertisements that we analyzed are members of affiliate networks controlled by organized crime in Russia and Eastern Europe (e.g., Glavmed, 33Drugs, gold-rx, Rx-Commission).
- In some cases, rogue Internet pharmacies have "hijacked" a legitimate Internet pharmacy's domain name: the ad will look like it has been listed by a licensed, US-based pharmacy, but actually clicks-through to a rogue Internet pharmacy (e.g., 33 Drugs). This implies serious security holes in Microsoft's advertising program.
Brief
Bing is Microsoft's search engine, a new version of their old Live.com platform. Advertisers may purchase
space within the search results that are matched to a user's search terms. The point is to present the user
with products they may be interested in and can click through to. These are not "organic" search results
that appear because of popularity, meta-data or relevance. These are paid-for search results tied to
specific products and services. Pharmacies are heavily regulated, in the real world and on-line. Unlicensed
pharmacies are not supposed to be able to advertise within Bing.
Analysis Walkthrough
Bing has search suggestions. Start typing and options will appear below your entry.
In this case, we simply typed "Xanax no" and Bing suggested four variations of "Xanax no prescription" for us.
[Xanax, AKA Alprazolam, is used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks. Xanax is a controlled substance. Long-term abuse may result in physical dependence.]
The sponsored Bing results have many options for buying Xanax without a prescription
As a sample we will examine the most prominent advertisement: rxtank.com (ABACUS AMERICA INC/AT&T WorldNet Services)
In reviewing these sites it does not take long to see what is really going on. rxtank.com does not supply its business address(makes vague reference to being in Florida) and actually states in their FAQ:
"We are not a pharmacy". There are many other samples in the full report.
Verify rxtank.com
Bing offers other results
In addition to Xanax, Bing suggests links to find
Ocycontin, Hydrocodone, Ambien, Vicodin and others with
no Prescription.
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See For Yourself
- Click a link below
- Review the Bing sponsored results
- Check the website with LegitScript to see if it is real
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