Swine Flu Scams Spread Online
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As the swine flu spreads across our nation's neighborhoods, schools, and nursing homes, there's an equally growing epidemic spreading across the internet - scams on fake swine flu treatment.
The real H1N1 vaccine, Tamiflu, is made by Switzerland's Roche Group. The vaccine's production and distribution continues to unfold in what appears to some as an agonizingly slow pace. Some criminal minds have now decided to capitalize on both consumer fears and the slow distribution of the vaccine to flood the internet with hoaxes and scams.
Among the scams are websites claiming to sell you Tamiflu without a prescription. Federal officials purchased some of these products and found some of them only contained generic Tylenol. Even if some of the drugs did contain some Tamiflu, federal officials warn that there is no way to know the conditions under which the drug was manufactured such that it could be contaminated.
Even traditional manufacturers are trying to cash in on the swine flu fears. Federal officials are taking a closer look at the manufacturers of popular anti-bacterial products because the flu is caused by a virus, so killing bacteria offers no protection from the flu. Yet, those manufacturers are producing millions of dollars worth of advertising designed at getting people to buy their products on the promise that their anit-bacterial products "kill germs."
If you are worried about the swine flu and want to protect yourself and your family, your best bet is still to contact your doctor or your local health department to learn where and when you can be vaccinated for H1N1.