Olympic Games will bring Internet scams

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 18 (UPI) -- Internet scammers are preparing and testing ways to leverage the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in London for their own purposes, security experts warn.

Computer security firm McAfee has warned users to be wary of online scams typically disguised as lottery and sweepstakes promotions tied to the Olympics, ZDNet.com reported Wednesday.

The scams inform recipients they have won a substantial amount of money and must contact the lottery manager to arrange for "processing fees" or "transfer charges" for the winnings -- which are, of course, non-existent.

The spam e-mails masquerade as lottery results supposedly sponsored by brands such as Coca Cola, Microsoft and Nokia, McAfee said.

Any e-mails and Web sites informing users they've won something in a promotion related to the Olympic Games should be avoided and deleted, experts said.

Massive international events like the Olympic Games have become popular windows of opportunity for cybercriminals looking to make a dishonest buck, McAfee said.