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Crooks set cyber traps on Digg

SAN FRANCISCO - PandaLabs, a computer security firm, is reporting that cyber-crooks are setting traps on popular news-sharing website Digg.

Criminals pose as legitimate Digg members and then entice readers with bogus links to scintillating online video in comments posted in forums related to celebrity news, according to the Spain-based firm.

Digg is a website at which stories from throughout the Internet are gathered and then given prominence depending on votes, or 'diggs,' they get from website members.

Digg members chat about stories in accompanying online forums.

PandaLabs said cyber-frauds post comments claiming to have links to video of starlets having sex or stars getting into trouble.

Those that follow such links are prompted to download software to view the promised video.

What is actually installed is a program that pretends to scan computers for malicious software, claims to find critical problems and then offers to eliminate the supposed trouble at a price.

'To make its claims more believable, it prevents the system from operating correctly,' PandaLabs said of the malicious software ruse. 'The aim is obviously to profit from sales of this spoof security solution.'

PandaLabs said a preliminary analysis of Digg revealed more than 50 profiles that left comments to lure members into the trap.

'We are fully aware of the issue at hand and have already taken action,' Digg community manager Jen Burton said in an emailed response to an AFP inquiry.

'Malware accounts reported to us by the community are terminated immediately and all content is removed.'

Burton said Digg has terminated more than 300 accounts suspected of spreading malware.