Flu Outbreak Set to Be Newest Target For Spammers

Security experts are warning that the new Swine Flu outbreak is likely to become the latest headline to be exploited by spammers and scammers. Domain names related to the disease are being snapped up at an alarming rate. It looks as if they plan to take advantage of people’s fears surrounding the outbreak, which has killed over 60 people in Mexico and cropped up here in the U.S. in New York, Kansas, Texas and California.

The spam messages have headlines such as “First US swine flu victims!” and “Madonna caught swine flu!” and the links they contain lead to online pharmacies hawking fake drugs and even a site selling a Swine Flu “survival guide” for a mere $20. Security experts say 5% of all spam sent now is Swine Flu related and that number will probably rise as the outbreak continues to spread.

The Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to ignore any emails offering a Swine Flu vaccine as none exists, and the FDA will be going after any site offering any kind of Swine Flu drugs. Such sites are already showing up in spam messages and on search engines as domains related to the virus are being snapped up like hotcakes.

If you have a legit company that offers products that could be associated with the outbreak (such as pharmaceuticals, anti-bacterial products, health care products, etc) take care to make sure your domain is secure to protect yourself against a possible hijack. Disable any non-essential tools such as FTP, and keep your firewall up to date at all times.