When America was young, peddlers traversed the country in wagons selling “snake oil” and other bogus medicines to unwary customers. But the snake oil salesmen and women have since traded in their horse-drawn wagons for computers and modems.

With hundreds of drug-dispensing Web sites doing business online, it is becoming increasingly hard to tell which sites are legitimate, especially when it is easy to set up a site that is very professional-looking and promises deep discounts or a minimum of hassles. If you shop for medical products online, the Food and Drug Administration and COMBAT’s Maine Center for the Public Interest want you to be aware of the following dangers:

. Purchasing a medication from an illegal Web site puts you at risk. You may receive a contaminated or counterfeit product, the wrong product, an incorrect dose, or no product at all.

. Taking an unsafe or inappropriate medication puts you at risk for dangerous drug interactions and other serious health consequences.

. Getting a prescription drug by filling out a questionnaire without seeing a doctor poses serious health risks. A questionnaire does not provide sufficient information for a health-care professional to determine if that drug is for you or safe to use, if another treatment is more appropriate, or if you have an underlying medical condition where using that drug may be harmful. The American Medical Association has determined that this practice is generally substandard medical care, and the FDA agrees.

There are some things you can do to reduce your risk of being cheated online by sites selling drugs:

. Check with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy at www.nabp.net or call (847) 698-6227 to determine whether a Web site is a licensed pharmacy in good standing.

. Don’t buy from sites that offer to prescribe a prescription drug for the first time without a physical exam, sell a prescription drug without a prescription, or sell drugs not approved by FDA.

. Don’t do business with sites that don’t have a registered pharmacist to answer questions.

. Avoid sites that do not explain clearly who they are and do not provide a U.S. address and phone number to contact if there’s a problem.

. Don’t purchase from foreign Web sites because generally it will be illegal to import drugs bought from these countries, the risks are greater, and there is very little the U.S. government can do if you get ripped off.

. Beware of sites that advertise a “new cure” for a serious disorder or a quick cure-all for a wide range of ailments.

. Be careful of sites that use impressive-sounding terminology to disguise a lack of good science or those that claim the government, the medical profession, or research scientists have conspired to suppress a product.

. Steer clear of sites that include undocumented case histories claiming “amazing” results.

. Talk to your health-care professional before using any medications for the first time.

If you suspect that a site is illegal, contact the FDA. These sites and other crooked Internet businesses come and go like unwanted relatives on vacation, so keeping track of them is a full-time job. In addition, COMBAT’s Maine Center for the Public Interest is forming an online coalition of Maine businesses and households so we may receive reports of fraud, investigate, and report back to all coalition members. For information on how you can join the coalition and receive e-mail alerts when the Maine Center site is activated, send a stamped, return-addressed business size (#10) envelope and include the words “Maine Fights Back” in your request.

Consumer Forum is a collaborative effort of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT. Send questions to Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329. COMBAT is a nonprofit organization with annual dues of $10. For membership information, write to the above address.