Scammers have launched websites and are sending out spam emails to attract donations intended for the victims of Hurricane Katrina that struck parts of the South East of America.

The SANS Internet Storm Centre said on its website that it has strong suspicions about Katrinahelp.com, Katrinarelief.com and Katrinacleanup.com. 

The security centre has contacted the hosting companies of some of the suspect sites, but they refused to take the sites offline based on just a suspicion.

In one case, the website at Katrinahelp.com claimed to be offering web visitors the facility to make donations to the hurricane victims through the online payment provider PayPal.

But an apparent link to PayPal's website instead leads to a page hosted by the makers of katrinahelp.com. The service was set up to steal usernames and passwords.

Others are exploiting the disaster by registering domain names related to the hurricane and offering them for sale. The owners of Aboutkatrina.com and Katrinaphotos.com are asking $10,000.

The seller of the intentionally misspelled Katrinareleif.com predicts that the domain "will provide a pipeline of traffic for years to come" . 

On eBay one domain broker tried to sell three domain names that referred to the disaster as "our tsunami" for $15,000. He promised to donate half of the sale price to the Red Cross. The listing (5804530844) has since been removed by eBay.

Hurrican Katrina tore across the Gulf Coast on Monday and flooded large parts of New Orleans. The hurricane crippled oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and nearby refineries, causing a peak in energy prices.

The city's mayor, Ray Nagin, has officially called for New Orleans to be " abandoned".

Donations to the disaster relief fund can be made through the American Red Cross here.