As Muslims continue to observe the holy month of Ramadan, cybercriminals are exploiting the occasion to mount a Ramadan-themed phishing attack.

The scams started as early as July 20, the start of the holy month, according to a blog post by security vendor Bitdefender.

"Bitdefender Labs has stumbled on an increasing number of spam targeting Islamic users in the holiest month, including Nigerian-style scam offers, a barrage of sale offers and bait set out by potential identity thieves," it said.

It said one sample appeared to come from a 20-year-old woman wishing a “Happy Ramadan to you and family,” and looking for an experienced business partner.

In the "grammatically-challenged" email, the supposed businesswoman promised “more information if the recipient indicated interest to help” her.

On the other hand, Bitdefender noted a phishing attack crafted for Ramadan that posed as a message from a bank in Hong Kong.

After wishing “Happy Ramadan,” the email urges users to click on the attached document.

It promised a "Huge amount" that "will be transferred into any account of your choice as soon as you reply."

Bitdefender also noted a wave of commercial spam advertising offering "everything from gastronomic delights to abayas, perfumes, legal services and PC tablets that would make an 'amazing and loving Ramadan gift for kids.'”

"Some commercial Ramadan spam isn’t just annoying, but could be used as bait by cyber-crooks. Several commercial web sites registered on Pakistan domain .pk have received poor ratings from the Web of Trust that analyses if pages come loaded with malware, phishing, scams, or bad online shopping experiences," it added.

Ramadan is expected to end August 18, it noted. — LBG, GMA News