As the start of the Summer Olympics in London nears, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) reminds consumers to be on alert for potential cyber scams, and offers tips for staying safe.

The demand for London 2012 tickets has been extremely high, with a recent upsurge in Internet ticket sales. Cyber criminals are trying to take advantage of this for financial gain. These criminals are using tactics such as setting up fake websites, distributing malicious links and conducting search engine optimization attacks, all designed to trick users into inadvertently giving out personal information or causing malware to be downloaded onto the user's computer.

Some common scams include: (Source: http://www.london2012.com/stay-safe-online/)

• Emails/letters informing the recipient they have won an 'Olympic lottery' that they haven't entered.
• Emails/letters to manufacturing companies, asking them to pay large fees in order to provide items for the Games.
• Emails/letters informing the recipient that they can apply for a job being involved with the Games for a fee.

To help protect against these scams, the MS-ISAC offers the following tips:

• Always check the official Olympics site: www.london2012.com for all information about the Games, including where and how to buy your ticket.
• Do not respond to unsolicited emails from unknown and untrusted sources.
• Do not open any attachments contained in suspicious emails.
• Do not respond to emails requesting personal information or that ask you to "verify your information"
• Secure your computer. Be sure to have a firewall installed and enabled on your computer. Use up-to-date anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-adware protection software.

For More Information:

http://www.london2012.com/stay-safe-online/
http://news.softpedia.com/news/London-2012-Olympics-and-the-Cyber-Security-Risks-that-Come-with-It-276844.shtml