Experts at Sophos have warned Internet users that spammers are putting the lives of innocent people at risk, by peddling drugs online that are said to combat bird flu.
Sophos's spamtraps are picking up an increasing number of junk messages which claim to sell "Tamiflu", the drug believed most effective at protecting humans from the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus. The drug is in high demand because of fears that the virus could become a pandemic, and spread further around the world after deaths in Asia. The spam emails urge recipients to protect themselves and their families from the avian flu virus by purchasing Tamiflu from an online web site. The web site linked to also supposedly sells Viagra, and a number of other medications.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos said,
"It may make a change from receiving junk email about Viagra, but you should never ever buy drugs online, as you could be putting your health in mortal danger. Spammers are not interested in people's health, they're only interested in making fat profits. Drugs like Tamiflu should be prescribed by legitimate doctors, not quacks on the Internet. Buying medicine online from a web site advertised by spam email is like playing Russian Roulette.
You can never be sure that the drugs you buy online are the real thing. In your attempt to look after your health, you could actually be putting it at even greater risk."
Representatives of Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company which produces Tamiflu, say they have received reports of Internet sales of drugs which purport to be Tamiflu but are in fact bogus. The American Medical Association and British Medical Association are campaigning to alert consumers about the risks of purchasing drugs online.
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