Cyber criminals may actively take part in London 2012 Olympics
After LOCOG, the official organiser of London 2012 Olympics, informed 700,000 applicants about their seats and events, there is a high probability of cybercrime related to ticket sales as a considerable number of people have been disappointed about the tickets
they were alloted.
Not only is the dissatisfaction of the applicants a factor, but the remaining tickets also present a ripe opportunity for cyber criminals to make money.
According to what was revealed by Norton, a anti-virus software developer, there are a total of 1500 websites that have been detected offering tickets for the Olympic Games next year. Not only that, these sites provide visitors with an opportunity to take
part in lucky prize draws.
Given the temptation that the Olympics hold for its hordes of fans, these cyber criminals have been making huge amounts of money by robbing the bank accounts of the naïve web surfers. Apart from stealing money, these malicious sites also work to damage the
personal computers of web surfers who visit them by infecting the system with Trojan viruses as well as spam. This may happen within seconds of logging into the site.
The organisers of the prestigious sporting event have issued the following statement in an effort to address the matter at hand: "London 2012 recognizes the importance of online security and encourages web users to act safely online."
Ironically, the method of ticket allocations decided upon by the organisers have played a large part in adding to the confusion felt by the people who want to apply online for the tickets. The applicants who have received tickets first applied for them by
listing down the sports that they were interested in watching. Then their names were taken out in a ballot, leaving a staggering amount of 1.2 million applicants without any tickets. The 700,000 lucky applicants finally got to know of their seats and sports
only yesterday.
The London 2012 Olympics has created a lot of buzz all over the world as well as the city which will be hosting the event for a third time. It is hoped that the Olympics will be staged successfully with minimum issues.
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