Security experts have warned of an increase in cyber crime related to the upcoming US presidential inauguration.

Barack Obama is due to become president in less than a week, and the US Computer Emergency Response Team (US-Cert) is reporting an increase in spam, malware and phishing scams related to the event.

The agency has advised web users to be on the lookout for unsolicited or suspicious messages, and to use caution when visiting unknown or untrusted web sites.

Spam targeting current events has become a common practice in recent years. Cyber criminals often use the lure of video files to perform so-called 'fake codec' malware attacks, or email attachments to spread malware.

Phishing and data-harvesting attacks have also used current events to lure new victims. Fake web pages or phony charities are often launched after major news events to collect financial data.

The US presidential race was a particularly strong draw for scammers. Obama and Republican candidate John McCain were the subject of numerous fake video attacks.

Both candidates also found themselves the victims of cyber crime when investigators uncovered network breaches in both camps.