Computer security experts warned today 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.