This is a copy of a press release sent out by the County Council. Scams like this hurt in two ways. Firstly, it affects the individual involved and secondly it puts off other users from making more use of the Internet. My parents have taken some considerable convincing to use the Internet but now are enjoying the benefits having got over their fears.

It is important to remember that with some sensible precautions using the Internet is a safe place to gain huge benefits. As always, if it looks odd, or too good to be true just delete it. After all you would not give your bank details to a stranger in the street if they asked for it.

DON’T FALL FOR SCAM THAT GOES PHISHING FOR YOUR BANK DETAILS

E-mail fraudsters claiming to be from PayPal are out to get your bank details Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards have warned.

The e-mail fraudulently pretends to be from PayPal, a legitimate company used by many people to buy goods online.

People are told in the fake e-mail they have paid for something they had not ordered and then urged to apply for a refund – allowing fraudsters to get personal details.

One victim got an e-mail suggesting they had ordered a leather bag for an iphone 4 costing £159.99. The e-mail goes onto say if you haven’t authorised the charge to clink on a link for a refund. This then leads the e-mail recipient to pages where they are encouraged to give over personal financial details which could be used to access bank details.

Malcolm Taylor, Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards operations manager, said: “Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to use e-mails to encourage the unwary to give over bank details, known as phishing. If you have any doubt about an e-mail or transaction contact the company directly or if you believe it to be a fraud you can forward it to spoof@ebay.co.uk or just delete it. Cambridgeshire Trading Standards is dedicated to supporting consumers and companies making it easier and safer to do business in the County.”