14 DAY TRIAL // Internet users who may be concerned for Twitter’s Health may be given a medicine that they certainly don’t want. A spam campaign that comes with the “TwitterHealth alert” subject is designed to lead recipients to a rogue pharmacy that commercializes shady products.
The message, provided by MXLab experts, reads:
Welcome to TwitterHealth! Please check Your account.
From now you’ll be able to: Find out about sales and special deals first. Get exclusive email offers, discounts and coupons. Get the scoop on new stores, brands and features.
Discover the benefits of safe and secure shopping from 100% trusted Stores, the last account you’ll ever need, with satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.
Sincerely. Apparently coming from Twitter, the notification urges users to click on the “Please check your account” link which hides one of many URLs. The one thing they all have in common is the fact that they all lead to the same type of pharmacy site, called International Legal RX Medications, or other similar variations.
While many of these types of sites may not pose a threat to the integrity of one’s data, since they don’t usually contain malware, they represent a threat because they try to dupe the user into purchasing drugs and other medical products that are either counterfeit, or which simply don’t exist.
Others are designed to gather sensitive information, including credit card details from the unsuspecting user.
Users are recommended to stay clear of such websites, first of all, by ignoring suspicious emails that seem to come from legitimate companies, or in some cases, even friends.
On the other hand, since some of these scams may be cleverly designed and they do manage to convince you to click on the link, make sure that you don’t purchase anything without thoroughly documenting the site.
In most scenarios, sites that offer fabulous deals should be avoided, especially those advertised using aggressive marketing campaigns.