Virus writers are attempting to take over computer users' PCs by enticing them to click on a malicious program masquerading as lurid photos of England soccer captain David Beckham, a British security firm warned.
According to Sophos Plc, thousands of messages have been posted to Internet message boards in the past week claiming the married soccer star has been photographed with a Spanish prostitute.
The message instructs the curious to click on a Web link to see the revealing snapshots. But clicking the link will download a program known as a "Trojan horse" -- so named for its ability to sneak onto a PC and take control of the machine.
"The public's appetite for salacious gossip about the private life of the Beckhams might lead some into an unpleasant computer infection," warned Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.
Promising salacious photographs of celebrities is a time-tested trick among virus writers. Some of the most widespread viruses of all appeared in e-mail in-boxes advertised as naked photos of Britney Spears and tennis player Anna Kournikova.
Despite moving to Spanish soccer club Real Madrid last year, the private life of Beckham and his pop singer wife Victoria remains staple fare for Britain's tabloid newspapers.