Computer experts warn of Bin Laden malware scams

Computer security experts warned on Monday that online scammers may seek to exploit the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to spread malware.

"Watch out for the links you're likely to come across in email or on social networking sites offering you additional coverage of this newsworthy event," Paul Ducklin of computer security company Sophos said in a blog post.

"Many of the links you see will be perfectly legitimate links," Ducklin said. "But at least some are almost certain to be dodgy links, deliberately distributed to trick you into hostile Internet territory."

Mike Lennon of SecurityWeek said cybercriminals "typically use very attractive headlines to encourage users to click links and direct them to malware infected Web pages."

"Links are already beginning to spread across Facebook, similar to what happened following news of the recent earthquake in Japan," Lennon said.

"Users should be cautious of spam containing links to photos, videos and other information that sounds remarkably interesting on Bin Laden's death," Lennon said.

"Users also need to be cautious of Tweets through Twitter, and Facebook posts, as cybercriminals gear up to attract unsuspecting traffic to spread malware," he said.

Cybercriminals frequently use high-profile news events in a bid to entrap unsuspecting victims.

(c) 2011 AFP