The Age is reporting that a new spam outbreak is targeting Australian computers via a bogus news related email that suggests Australian Prime Minister had suffered a heart attack. Here is an extract of the story by the Age, and you can read the full story here, but in summary, if it turns up in your inbox, delete it and don't click the link that is in it.

A fake breaking news report claiming that John Howard had a heart attack is being circulated by spammers in an attempt to hijack Australians' computers.

The email, with the subject "John Howard survived a heart attack", uses a fake link to The Australian newspaper's website to download hidden "malware" onto computers.

"The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard have survived a heart attack," the email reads.

"Mr Howard, 67 years old, was at Kirribilli House in Sydney, his prime residence, when he was suddenly stricken.

"Mr Howard was taken to the Royal North Shore Hospital where the best surgeons of Australia are struggling for his life."

Clicking on the story link takes users to a copy of The Australian's "404 page not found" error page that downloads a trojan to the computer, allowing the installation of malware.