BE cautious online - this is the message from police after a Brandon resident was tricked into handing over �100 to web criminals.

The 28-year-old woman received an e-mail, allegedly from the Metropolitan Police, that said her computer had been used inappropriately and had been frozen. The laptop would not respond to any commands once the e-mail had been opened.

The message asked that she pay �100 in U Kash vouchers for the computer to work properly again. The victim purchased the voucher and entered a PIN number on screen.

This is not a genuine e-mail and the victim quickly warned her bank that her personal details may have been compromised following police advice.

Pc Lesley Brown said: “We’d like to remind everyone that no police force would contact you in this manner and ask for money. Paying with online cash vouchers for loans or other such services can be dangerous as the vouchers are very difficult for police to trace.

“We would urge everyone to research any company that asks to be paid in such a way thoroughly first. It can be useful to search the postal address to check it’s legitimate.”