J. K. ROWLING has warned fans not to hand over credit-card details to fraudsters claiming to sell an electronic copy of her latest book.

The author instructed readers to be wary of a new type of phishing — tricking people into handing over bank details — in which thieves asked for credit card numbers to pay for a bogus copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Neil Blair, who works for Rowling’s agency, Christopher Little, has succeeded in closing one website but believes the conmen will reappear. The site, registered in Seattle under the name “Billie Burns”, promised to provide the sixth Harry Potter volume in electronic form for $9.95 (£5.29). “This book is available now in electronic variant only,” Burns promised. “If you do not wish to wait for six months more, buy and start reading right now!”

The book will not be published until July 16, and none of Rowling’s work has been released as authorised e-books.

Rowling warned readers on her website never to download copies of her books from the internet or from file-sharing systems known as p2p. “Setting aside the fact that these books are illegal, they may infect your computer with viruses, leave you vulnerable to the dangers of hacking and/or credit card fraud and may also contain content that has nothing to do with Harry Potter.”

Mr Blair, who monitors the internet for copyright infringement for Rowling, said it was the first time thieves had used Harry Potter in phishing. “Through our efforts the site was taken down very quickly. We tried to trace Billie Burns but he gave false details.”

Illegal versions of the first five Harry Potter volumes are available on p2p systems. Less than 60 hours after the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2003, pirates had copied the 766-page volume into an electronic format.The files are difficult to obtain, however, since most contain fiction written by fans.

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