Pharmacy Spam Emails Pretend to be From Vimeo

Outline
Emails purporting to be from video sharing website Vimeo claim that the recipient's video has been approved and that an unread message about the video is available by clicking a link.



Brief Analysis
The messages are not from Vimeo. The links in the emails open a spammy online drug store website that tries to trick visitors into purchasing dodgy pharmaceutical products.

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Last updated: August 28, 2012
First published: August 28, 2012
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example


Detailed Analysis
These messages, which are designed to look like they have been sent by video sharing website Vimeo, supposedly inform recipients that a video that they have submitted has been approved. The messages arrive complete with seemingly legitimate Vimeo logos and colour scheme. Users are invited to click a link to view an "unread message" about the video.

However, the messages are not from Vimeo. They are nothing more than an attempt by online spammers to trick people into visiting a dodgy "Canadian Drugstore" website. The spammers rely on the likelihood that even people who have not submitted a video may be inclined to click the message link out of simple curiosity. Those who fall for the ruse and click any one of the links in the email will be taken, not to the Vimeo website as they might expect, but rather to a website that tries to peddle a range of pharmaceutical products.

Buying products from one of these spam websites is very unwise. Those who purchase medicine from these sites have no way of knowing if it is the real thing or some potentially harmful substitute. And, because the medicine has not been properly prescribed by a doctor, it may interfere with other medications that users are taking or be unsuitable - or even downright dangerous - due to other health conditions that the buyer may have. That is if they actually revive the product they ordered at all. Moreover, such sites often use unsecure pages to process credit card transactions, which could certainly put credit card details at risk. Any outfit unscrupulous enough to use such deliberately deceptive spam tactics is not someone you would want to trust with your credit card or other personal details.

Spam websites like this have also been known to contain malware that users may inadvertently download and install on their computers.

This message is in fact just one more incarnation of a long line of such spam attacks. Previous versions have falsely claimed to be from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. As in the Vimeo variant, all links in the messages open bogus pharmacy websites.

The spammers responsible for such campaigns apparently bank on the fact that at least a few people who click on the links will linger and buy products even after they realize they have been taken to the drugstore website under false pretenses. Unfortunately, these individuals feed the spammers and make their odious campaigns worthwhile.

If you receive one of these emails, just delete it. Do not click on any links that the messages contain.






References
Pharmacy Spam Emails Purport to be From YouTube
Facebook Deactivated Account Spam
Pharmacy Spam Disguised as Twitter Emails
Fake LinkedIn Email Leads to Pharmacy Spam Website

Last updated: August 28, 2012
First published: August 28, 2012
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer