Britons’ growing penchant for pornography is putting them at risk of particularly nasty computer viruses that could cost victims their savings, cyber experts have warned.

Four in ten British adults watch pornography online every day and nearly a third have been infected with a “digital STI” as a result, according to a new survey.

The growing popularity of online pornography has marked it a prime target for cyber criminals, who are booby-trapping websites with malicious software to snare unsuspecting victims.

Hackers employ an arsenal of cyber-weapons including viruses that can track the keystrokes on a laptop or smartphone keyboard. The text, which could include online banking passwords and email account details, is sent to criminals over the internet, and could be used to empty bank accounts. In some cases, hackers hijack pornography sites with malware that allows them to mine Bitcoins by stealing the processing power of the person visiting the site.

Another scam called “clickjacking” tricks someone into clicking on one object on a web page while they think they are clicking on another. Clickjacking could be used to install malware or to switch on the victim’s webcam without their knowing. Victims are often completely unaware they have been “hacked” until it is too late, although one symptom is a slow running device.