Consumers are being warned about an increase in the number of fake virus alerts which infect computers with unwanted bugs.
The alerts commonly appear after opening an email attachment, if a file is downloaded, or if a pop up advertisement is clicked on.
The consumer watchdog's SCAMwatch service has issued the warning, urging consumers never to click on pop up anti-virus alerts.
"Scammers often use well known company names which specialise in computer software to gain your trust," the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.
"The pop up advertisements aim to mimic genuine warning alerts generated by computer security software."
The free virus scans offered in the emails don't work or infect computers with the viruses the emails say the scans will protect against.
Scammers use the programs to collect personal information to sell on to criminals.
To avoid clicking on suspicious pop up ads, consumers are being advised to press control, alt, delete, to view a list of programs currently running on their system and delete the pop up alert from the list of running programs.
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