Internet scam artists try to cash in on missing Madeleine

May 19, 2007, 13:31 GMT

London - Scam artists have set up websites similar to the official site for missing 4-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann in an attempt to steal credit-card numbers and personal details from donors, British media reported Saturday.

The official website for McCann, who disappeared while on holiday in southern Portugal, had received more than 70 million hits in three days, the Daily Mail reported.

But gangsters had set up a series of similar bogus sites looking for donations, and some even had advertisements from well-known British brands, the report said.

Madeleine's family was outraged: 'It is a shame that people behave like this and they exploit the generosity of the general population,' uncle John McCann told the Daily Mail.

'I am loth to use the phrase parasites, but unfortunately that is what it seems like,' he said.

Donors may have unwittingly given money to the bogus websites simply by arriving on one and clicking on an advertising banner, as site operators receive a small fee each time an internet user clicks on a banner.

In the meantime, millions of people around the world have seen a two-minute video showing pictures of Madeleine.

It was shown during the internationally broadcast UEFA soccer final in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Wednesday.

Millions more will see the vidoe when her picture is flashed to fans at the official opening of London's revamped Wembley stadium on Saturday.

The DVD entitled Find Madeleine is to be displayed at the Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley which kicks off at 3 pm (1400 GMT).

The final marks the re-opening of the stadium after a revamp costing in excess of 800 million pounds (1.6 billion dollars).

The film, made by the campaign to raise awareness of Madeleine's disappearance has already been shown at other major matches, along with appeals for her release by leading footballers including David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and John Terry.

The blonde little girl was taken from her bed at the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, on the Algarve, on May 3, while her parents were eating at a nearby restaurant.

Portuguese police are questioning Robert Murat, a 33-year-old Briton, and a Russian computer expert, Sergey Malinka, in connection with the girl's disappearance.

Multinational companies, including British Petroleum, Shell, Esso, Texaco and Total have launched a massive poster and text messaging campaign as millions have been poured into a fund to help the search.

Telecoms companies including Vodafone, O2 and Spain's Telefonica are among those backing the phone text campaign.

Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have said they will stay in the Algarve resort until Madeleine is found.