Trading Standards Officers are warning the public to beware of an email claiming to offer a tax refund.

The email is supposedly from HM Customs and Revenue but is actually an attempt to gain personal information.

A spokesperson said: “This email looks genuine and offers a refund of hundreds of pounds in return for sending personal information. It is a scam designed to get people to send their personal information and should be deleted. Banks, Customs and Revenue etc would never ask for such information by email and similar scams should be similarly deleted”.