Paranoid Britons are being sold counterfeit Tamiflu online by Russian crime gangs, who are making millions out of anxious residents fearing they will not be able to obtain the drug through the NHS.

People are not only paying cash for potentially useless drugs, they are also putting themselves at risk of identity fraud.

Graham Cluley from the computer security firm - Sophos says, as the number of swine flu cases in the UK rise, people are finding it difficult to resist the panic-induced temptation of buying Tamiflu online. And, criminal gangs setting up fake internet pharmacies, not only put customers' health and personal information at risk, but also their credit card details.

Without qualms, they have broken the law for promoting such websites, and there is nothing to prevent them from exploiting confidential data or selling life-endangering medications.

Conducting its own research, Sophos says, for a share of the profits, organised criminal networks are driving online shoppers to fake virtual pharmacies, and these fraudsters, mostly based in Russia, work 24 x 7 to promote the illegal goods.

Investigators found the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada and France to be the top five countries purchasing Tamiflu and other anti-viral drugs online, helping these crime gangs earn anywhere between ?10,000 and ?60,000 per day, with their profits driven higher amidst continuing concerns about swine flu.