Criminals Profit From H1N1 Flu Fears Through Phising and Spam
Reuters reports that criminal networks are using H1N1 flu fears and Tamiflu shortages to con people out of their personal information and credit card details. They also get people to use their credit cards with a bogus promise of Tamiflu that is never delivered. Sophos, a British security software company, intercepted hundreds of million of fake ads for Tamiflu.
Criminal gangs are making millions of dollars out of the H1N1 flu pandemic by selling fake flu drugs over the internet, a web security firm said on Monday.
Sophos, a British security software firm said it had intercepted hundreds of millions of fake pharmaceutical spam adverts and websites this year, many of them trying to sell counterfeit antiviral drugs like Tamiflu to worried customers.
Tamiflu, an antiviral marketed by Switzerland's Roche Holding and known generically as oseltamivir, is the frontline drug recommended by the World Health Organization to treat and slow the progression of flu symptoms. GlaxoSmithKline makes another antiviral for flu, known as Relenza.
Sophos said some criminals are making as much as $100,000 per day with the phising and spam tactics. The top five countries where people are responding to the spam and getting fooled are the United States, Germany, Britain, Canada and France.
