LinkedIn scam diverts users to rogue pharmacy

Business networking site LinkedIn has been hit by a 'phishing' scam in which users have been sent fraudulent messages diverting them to an online pharmacy selling suspected counterfeit medicines.

The emailed messages ask users to confirm their email address by clicking on a link which takes them to the rogue pharmacy. The news comes in the wake of news that millions of encrypted passwords had been published online by a Russian hacker.

In a blog published earlier this week, LinkedIn's Vicente Silveira apologised for the security lapse and confirmed that "some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedIn accounts".

The company is taking steps to seal the breach by resetting the passwords of accounts known to be compromised automatically, and advising users how to reset their passwords. It also says it has introduced new measures to encrypt its password databases.