Outline Email purporting to be a notification from Facebook claims that the recipient has 1 lost message that can be retrieved by clicking a link.
Brief Analysis
The email is not from Facebook. The message is spam that attempts to peddle dubious pharmaceutical products. The link in the message opens a notorious Canadian Pharmacy website promoting Viagra.
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Last updated: 21st October 2011
First published: 21st October 2011
Article written by Brett M. Christensen About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer
Example
Subject: New notification from Facebook
Facebook has sent you a notification
You have 1 lost message on Facebook, to recover a message follow the link below:
[Link removed]
FAQ: Can you recieve messages if your inbox is full?
Frequently Asked Questions
The message was sent to [removed]. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future or have your email address used for friend suggestions, you can unsubscribe. Facebook, Inc. P.O. Box 10005, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Detailed Analysis
This email, which claims to be a "New Notification" from Facebook, informs recipients that they have "1 lost message" waiting on their Facebook account. The message claims that recipients can recover this lost message by following a link.
However, the email is not from Facebook and following the link will not recover a lost message. Instead, clicking the link opens an online pharmacy website that attempts to peddle Viagra and other such products to visitors.
The spam message is tricked up to resemble a genuine Facebook email in an effort to fool people into clicking the included link. The spammers apparently rely on at least a few people who do click the link actually staying to buy products on the pharmacy website. Given that almost identical tactics have been used in several previous online pharmacy campaigns, the ruse is obviously effective. During 2010, a very similar spam email claimed to be a Facebook account deactivation notification. Another 2010 version claimed to be an unread message notification from Twitter. As in this version, both earlier spam messages opened a variant of the notorious Canadian Pharmacy website.
If you receive this or a similar message, do not follow any links that it may contain. And remember the golden rule: NEVER buy from spammers.
