A NEW warning has been issued about the dangers of e-mails used by fraudsters to get people's bank and credit card details.

The Durham Agency Against Crime, a partner of Durham Police, said more devious ways were being devised by criminals to obtain such information, which is used to empty bank accounts.

Usually, an e-mail is sent claiming to be from a bank or other financial group with which people have an account.

People are asked to give details such as a credit card number, password or Pin.

Chief Inspector Bob Glass, who heads the agency, said legitimate banks and other organisations would never ask for sensitive information in this way.

He said: "Computer fraudsters are becoming more devious every day, and I have personally been the victim, on several occasions, of attempts to access my account numbers, usernames and passwords. As you can imagine, once such information is in the hands of crooks, they can then wreak havoc on your finances and reputation, whether personal or corporate."

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) recently published a list of ten scams through which people are conned out of an estimated £1bn a year.

The OFT, which has made February its public awareness month on the issue of scams, said many swindles originated overseas, making detection and prosecution difficult.