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Facebook users warned vs fake e-mailed notifications
Friday, June 15, 2012 08:45 AM Views : 744GMA NewsUsers of social networking giant Facebook have been warned against falling for fake Facebook notifications that arrive via email.
Security vendor Sophos said the emails claim the recipient has "notifications pending" - and links that look "convincing" but may lead to trouble.
"The link, of course, could go to anywhere. It could go to a phishing website, a webpage hosting a malicious download or something else unsavory. When I tested the link in the emails I saw, they took my computer (via some redirects) to a Canadian pharmacy website offering to sell me Viagra and Cialis to improve my perfomance between the sheets," it said in a blog post.
It theorized the spammers behind the latest email attack are earning affiliate cash by driving traffic to the pharmaceutical website.
But Sophos also pointed out the perpetrators of the spammed-out campaign could change where it points to at any time.
The company said Facebook users should think twice before clicking on e-mail links, even if they look "pretty convincing."
"Always be careful about the links that you click on, and be suspicious of unexpected emails," it advised.