Online fraudsters are targeting Google AdWords in an attempt to gain access to banking details of businesses and individuals, according to research from Bigmouthmedia.

The volume of "phishing" emails aimed at tricking customers into handing over their AdWords account login details surged by 240 per cent in April this year compared to the monthly average for 2007.

In addition to attempting to extract details that would leave victims open to identity theft, fraudsters are attempting to redirect AdWords traffic to their own sites.

Lyndsay Menzies, managing director of Bigmouthmedia UK, said: "Google traffic is as good as cash on the internet, so it was perhaps inevitable that criminals would begin targeting AdWords users."

She added that 2008 has seen a massive leap in phishing attempts and users should be aware that Google's AdWords division would never send an unsolicited email asking for sensitive information.

In related news, Yahoo! recently announced it was taking legal action against internet spammers for sending false emails purporting to be from the company offering a prize or claiming that recipients had won a lottery.