Internet users are being urged to be wary of spam and malicious emails that have materialised online following the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.
The US Computer Emergency Response Team (US-CERT) said it has already received reports of spam and malware relating to the celebrity deaths last week.
It has advised users to ignore unknown links, attachments, emails and messages, and keep their anti-virus software updated.
Several news and networking websites saw a surge of traffic after the deaths of pop king Jackson and television star Fawcett. The surge brought down Google and social networking sites like Twitter as users sought and exchanged information.
Security experts say the huge interest has also given spammers and malware writers an opportunity to unleash a tide of spam and malicious e-mails on unsuspecting users.
McAfee researcher Guilherme Venere wrote in a blog post: "Every time a disaster happens or news about some celebrity reaches the media, malware writers try to take advantage of it.
"Watch out for spam offering links to 'news' or 'pictures' of deceased celebrities."
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