Police in Fife have warned internet users to be on their guard against a new eBay scam that has caught out several locals.

The fraud centres around eBay users who are unsuccessful in bidding for the item they want and are offered a 'Second Chance Offer' as the original bidder has pulled out. When money is sent the items fail to arrive.

"My advice would be never to send credit card details as a result of an email request," said Inspector Alex Harkness of Fife Police.

"No authentic company or bank will ever ask you to send personal details by this method, but will ask you to log-on to the secure section of their site using your recognised passwords etc.

"This is very much a case of internet buyer beware. Don't be the next big catch on the internet."

The police reported that dozens of people have been taken in by the scam, in some cases losing hundreds of pounds. Phishing emails have also been on the increase with fraudsters seeking to harvest bank account details using bogus websites.