Scam puts Twilight fans at risk

Cyber criminals are trying to prey on the fans of the Twilight series with anticipation of the upcoming 'New Moon' movie reaching a fever pitch says internet security company PC Tools.

This scheme centres on the author of the best-selling series, Stephanie Meyer. According to PC Tools, fans searching for more information about her and the movie will come across a site promising an online interview.

Instead, it’s a “Vampire Byte” to suck out your financial information and install malware on your computer.

Here’s how the scam works:

First, a user searches online “Stephanie Meyer” and a result for “Stephanie Meyer at 365Multimedia.com” returns with a description of “Stephanie Meyer interview on Twilight the movie starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart”.

When clicked on, the link then redirect users to a window informing them that they are infected with malware and they are then advised to download a phony antivirus software product to get rid of the infection. As they download and install the phony antivirus software they are asked for credit card information.

Malware is then installed on the user’s computer and any financial information entered is sent off to cybercriminals.

PC Tools says that this “Vampire Byte” is just the tip of the iceberg for Twilight fans and that more scams around Twilight are expected.

The movie is released internationally today.