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Cyber crooks send hoax email on election cancellation

Cyber crooks reportedly compromised the online security of a university network in the US and sent out a hoax email on the eve of the presidential election, saying the exercise has been cancelled.

Some 35,000 students, faculty and staff at George Mason University in Virginia received the hoax email, which stated that the election had been postponed to November 5th, according to PC Advisor.

It is doubtful anyone would have fallen for the hoax given the amount of media coverage the presidential election attracted but parents and students are said to have contacted the university to find out why the message had been sent.

"Some of the people were not sure if the message was legitimate," said university spokesman Daniel Walsch who added that this was because it appeared have come from the provost's office.

The incident has been reported to local law enforcement authorities and the FBI.

Democratic senator Barack Obama was elected president in the election, which attracted record numbers.

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