Small businesses have been warned not to be fooled by the soaring amount of spam emails that offer software which is invariably illegal.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) said that the last three months have seen a large increase in emails offering pirated computer software via internet mail order.

The illegal spam often link through to sophisticated websites, offering software disguised as original equipment manufacture (OEM) software.

The BSA warned small firms not to be fooled into buying software from these websites, which are often highly convincing.

Beth Scott, vice president of the BSA, said: “Unfortunately, these websites appear legitimate, using convincing graphics and copies of manufacturers’ logos, but are increasingly the vehicle of choice used by criminal organisations to dupe businesses and consumers into buying illegal software.”

The BSA offered the following tips to small businesses to avoid being victimised by the spammers –

If you suspect an email is spam don’t reply – your address may be distributed to other spammers as a result, increasing the volume of spam.

Keep your anti-virus protection up-to-date – spammers may try to get personal information from you or use your computer for internet crime.

Avoid posting your email address on public sites – spammers ‘trawl’ public sites for email addresses.

Review the software publisher’s website – if the ‘reseller’ isn’t listed on the manufacturer’s website as a recognised dealer, proceed with caution.

Beware of back-ups – take special care to avoid sellers offering ‘back-up’ copies, which constitute copyright infringement.

Steer clear of compilations – avoid compilations of software titles from different publishers on a single CD.

Keep receipts – print out a copy of your order number and sales confirmation and keep them at least until your software arrives in satisfactory condition.

Report piracy – buyers suspecting software piracy, counterfeit software and/or fraud should contact the police or www.bsa.org.uk