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Swine flu-related domain names being registered

Swine flu may just be a few days old in the public domain but cyber crooks have moved with speed to set up forums that could be used to expose worried users to online threats as well as get their finances, it has emerged.

The global media is currently focused on the infection that is reported to have killed more than 150 people in Mexico, with suspected infection cases reported outside the country as far as Europe.

While many people in the world are more concerned about how to avoid infection, cyber crooks seem intent to infect computer users, according to online security firm F-Secure, which has said "lots of domains" are being registered.

According to the firm, no malware sites have been spotted yet but plenty of the domains being registered are opportunistic, with some offering PDF downloads for a small fee.

Such sites can be used to steal the financial details of anyone trying to pay for the products, which could result in ID theft and online fraud.

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