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The security firm has reported that an increasing number of junk messages claiming to sell the much sought-after Tamiflu have been picked up by its spamtraps. The drug is believed to be the most effective at protecting humans from the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus. Experts are concerned that people in fear of a pandemic may be putting their health at risk by responding to spam emails.

Many

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of the emails carry the subject line 'Protect yourself and your family from bird flu!' and urge recipients to purchase Tamiflu through an online website. The website linked to also supposedly sells Viagra and a number of other medications.

'It may make a change from receiving junk email about Viagra, but you should never ever buy drugs online, as they could be putting your health in mortal danger,' said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos,'Spammers are not interested in people's health, they're only interested in fat profits.'

Representatives of Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company that produces Tamiflu, say they have received reports of Internet sales of drugs which purport to be Tamiflu but are in fact bogus.

'Drugs like Tamiflu should be prescribed by legitimate doctors, not quacks on the Internet,' added Cluley, 'Buying medicine online from a website advertised by spam email is like playing Russian Roulette.'