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Airline ticket, what airline ticket?

Internet users have been warned to watch out for email messages claiming to offer airline tickets, whose purchase has been charged to the recipient's account or they risk compromising their internet security.

Such messages are designed to prompt immediate reaction from victims who may want to find out why the purchase was made without their permission but this is what the crooks behind the emails want, says an online security expert.

Roping in heavyweights such as Virgin America, Delta Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines, the emails come with a file which if opened will infect Windows users with a Trojan horse.

According to internet security firm Sophos, the dangerous attachment - a ZIP file attached to the emails dubbed print-ticket.zip - are geared towards exploiting victims' common sense.

The firm says victims "may rush to open the file for more information" without engaging their brain first, which plays well into the hacker's desires.

A similar malware campaign involving retirement plans was highlighted early this week.

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