Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned
that computer users are putting their lives at risk if they
purchase slimming pills marketed via spam.
Last week, the United Nations International Narcotics Control
Board (INCB) confirmed that a growing number of women are buying
appetite suppressing drugs over the internet in an attempt to lose
weight. Almost 60 percent of all spam sent across the internet is
in relation to medication and pills.
The sale of dietary supplements containing
Ephedra is illegal in the USA, but this does not stop spammers
promoting it as a weight-loss aid.
"There are two big dangers in buying slimming pills over the
internet. Firstly, you are buying drugs without medical advice
which may be inappropriate for your physical condition and could do
you more harm than good. Secondly, you have no guarantee that what
you are actually buying is the real medication. It could be that
the spammers are increasing their margins by selling you bogus
medications that you may have an unpleasant reaction to," said
Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Spammers don't care about
people's health, they only care about their profits. If you have a
medical problem consult a doctor, not an internet crook."
Sophos's Security
Threat Report 2007 revealed that medical spam is the most
commonly encountered type of spam, overshadowing stock spams and
pornography.
"Spammers clog up the net with unwanted messages, making life
harder for all email users and pushing goods onto the unwary,"
continued Cluley. "Weight-loss products are just one of many goods
peddled by spammers, and many computer users faced by the growing
mountain of spam would like to see spammers sent to jail for a diet
of bread-and-water."
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend against the
threats of spam, spyware and viruses.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.