The Financial Crime Unit has issued a fraud warning over schemes known as 'Boiler Room Scams'.

The FCU says a growing number of Island residents are falling foul of the scheme, which offers the chance to invest in apparently lucrative deals.

These are often items such as shares, gemstones, precious metals or even fine wines.

Scammers harvest contact details from the internet then contact their victim to offer goods at extremely low prices with the promise these will greatly rise in value.

But – of course – once you’ve sent money, the fraudsters vanish.

The FCU says these often originate in countries with no extradition agreement and are extremely hard to investigate.

The official advice? Don’t reply to the emails.