Hackers Cash In On Patrick Swayze Death

The death of 80s heartthrob Patrick Swayze has inspired an outpouring of Internet messages and tributes from fans and fellow actors, while a darker side of the web tries to cash in.

Hackers are renowned for jumping on the search bandwagon and targeting popular search terms to sell fake anti-virus software and to infect people with malware.

Just as scamsters have exploited public interest in the deaths of Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett and Natasha Richardson to lead people to virus-laced websites, Swayze’s death has led to a flood of similar sham web pages

These cyber criminals use search engine optimisation techniques to get these websites to rank high in search engines such as Google.

While the websites appear legitimate, upon visiting them targets are advised their computers need anti-virus scans. When these scans are complete targets are advised their computers have been infected with Trojans, offering to sell them fake anti-virus software to remove them.

Many of the sites also infect users with viruses designed to steal personal details such as passwords and credit-card numbers.