On December 15th, 2005 the FDA completed several investigations concluding that many online pharmacies are not fully licensed pharmacies and they are supplying counterfeit medications from as many as 27 different countries around the globe. These findings are a result of intercepting packages as they are cleared into the USA in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles airports. This brings to attention an alarming amount of trust that is placed on these foreign pharmacies and until more consumers start using the services of fraud protection websites such as the pharmacy escrow service sites that connects the buyer with a few fully licensed pharmacies in a safe and trustworthy environment.

"There are just so many (websites) to choose from - how can one possibly know which pharmacy is legit and which one is going to take my money and run away?" asks John R, a senior citizen residing in Ohio USA. "If it weren't for DrugDelivery.ca and its guarantee backed escrow service I wouldn't have a clue whether my medication would even arrive, let alone if it were fake or not. It's a scary world out there!" According to ePayNews.com, there was over 3 billion USD in online fraud in 2006, and as of June 2007 there is already 3.2 billion reported, more than the entire previous year. It is quite clear that stronger safeguards and measures are required to offset the astonishing growth of the Internet, and starting with the online pharmaceutical market (one of the largest and fastest growing in the world) is no exception.

Detecting a fraudulent online pharmacy is not always an easy thing to do but through the use of an escrow service a consumer can shop in confidence knowing their interests are always being protected. An escrow works by holding the funds of the buyer in a special escrow account while the transaction between the buyer and the seller is completed. If there are ever any problems with the transaction the escrow company will work to resolve the issue and in this regard provide protection for both the buyer and the seller. When you combine the protection of a well established escrow service with strict due diligence requirements of all pharmacies dispensing the medications, then and only then can you truly have a worry free experience when ordering your medications online.