According to security firm Sophos, the kits allow users to design sites that have the same look and feel as legitimate online banking sites that can then be used to defraud unsuspecting users by getting them to reveal the details of their financial accounts.

"By putting the necessary tools in the hands of amateurs, it's likely that the number of attacks will continue to rise," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

Sophos warned that many of the kits also contain spamming software that enables potential fraudsters to send out thousands of phishing e-mails with direct links to their do-it-yourself fraud sites.

By James Sherwood at ZDNet.

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