PEOPLE in Teesside are being warned to be vigilant after reports of a mail scam operating in the area.

It is a variation on an old scam in which people are sent a letter, fax or e-mail purporting to be from someone in Nigeria.

In this version, the Nigerian claims to have converted to Christianity and says he has diverted a large amount of money from the Nigerian Government into his own bank account to use for 'God's work'.

The recipient is asked to provide bank account details so a financial haven can be set up and people are offered a share of the cash.

Once the sender has received the account details, however, the information is used to withdraw their money.

Malcolm Graham, Hartlepool Borough Council's senior Trading Standards officer, said: "This is a bizarre new version of a scam which has been running for a number of years and I would hope this strange request would sound alarm bells with most people.

"Our advice to anyone who received this is simple - throw it straight in the bin."