Potter fans conned with 'free early movie premiere link' by hackers
27 Jun 2009, 1616 Hrs

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London, June 27 Harry Potter fans are being conned with a phoney link placed by cyber criminals that claims to lead them to a free sneak preview of the new film.

Hackers have been trying to trap fans into watching the soon to be released Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with the link.

Viewers are told they must download and install a "streamviewer" in order to watch the premiere, which in reality downloads "malware" that secretly records personal information such as passwords, and bank card numbers.

Fraudsters then gather these details to sell them over the World Wide Web or use the information for other swindles.

Michael Greene, vice president of Product Strategy for PC Tools, said fans were being targeted due to the hype surrounding the new release.

"It's a case of curiosity kills the cat... If you want to see the Harry Potter video before it's released you are going to click on the link. But it's likely you'll get an infection on your computer," Sky News quoted him as saying.

"It's not uncommon to target major events. The malwriters need an audience in order to deliver the malware," he added. (ANI)

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