Fake Pharmaceutical Websites Promoted through LinkedIn Spam

Spam mails apparently circulating across LinkedIn the business-related website for social networking inform recipients of somebody who has written to them, but actually conceal a sinister scheme for promoting a pharmaceutical website, which sells shady or illegitimate items, published softpedia.com dated January 12, 2012.

The fake electronic mail tells the recipient that [Name] has written one message for him. By following the web-link embedded underneath the message, the recipient can read it. The web-link given asks to view or answer the message. Meanwhile, to avoid getting e-mail notifications the user requires adjusting its configurations, the e-mail concludes.

But, when the web-link is clicked, the user is led onto one traditional pharmaceutical site that offers wonderful opportunities for buying medical items, a few illicit alternatively possible for acquiring solely through physician-prescribed certificates.

Essentially pharmacy scams aren't infrequent; however, they appear as highly successful, else their perpetrators would've deserted them in favor of something more effective.

A number of the fake Internet sites do not get displayed within search engine returns; therefore, cyber-crooks devise additional methods for advertising them. Hence the use of spam mails here as the more efficient tactic.

Nevertheless, according to security experts, it's quite imprudent as also potentially harmful for purchasing drugs or medicines from any such fake pharmaceutical website.

For, even suppose an ordered drug actually reaches the spam mail receiver, he has no way about verifying its authenticity as it could also be a harmful substitute.

Further, bogus pharmaceutical websites frequently have un-protected pages for manipulating transactions based on credit cards that can surely lead to theft of those cards' particulars. Besides, if anyone is suspected of intentionally using such spurious spam tricks, that person shouldn't be believed so far as giving him personal info or credit card particulars are concerned. Lastly, these fake online medicinal stores occasionally host malware too.

Additionally, the spam mails in question utilize HTML for masking the true online sites their implanted web-links exhibit. However, by brushing the mouse over such web-links the underlying URLs will get exhibited, thus letting users to conveniently know whether or not the said web-links are camouflaged.

Related article: Fake Spam Mail Announces Australian PM’s Heart Attack

» SPAMfighter News - 1/20/2012