DHAKA: Cybercriminals are exploiting the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane by luring users to websites purporting to offer the latest news in order to steal their personal information.

An internet security firm warned on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.

Trend Micro urged Internet users to exercise caution when clicking on links shared on social media for news of flight MH370, which mysteriously vanished from the radar in the early hours of March 8 while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

There is no trace of the aircraft or the 239 people on board, despite a massive international search.

Trend Micro said its global network of research, service and support centres TrendLabs had spotted an executable file disguised as a video that, when clicked, allowed scammers to collect a user’s data, such as his or her IP address.

‘Given the heightened interest in the missing flight, it was only time (before) cybercriminals used it to their advantage,’ TrendLabs expert Paul Oliveria said in a statement.

BDST: 1844 HRS, MAR 18, 2014