CONMEN are tricking people out of money by taking payment from homeowners who have had work done.

Fraudsters are emailing members of the public who are expecting to make a payment for property repairs.

They pretend to be a tradesman who has recently completed work at the home and use a similar email address to that of the genuine tradesman asking for money to be transferred via bank transfer.

Once payment is made the victims of the scam soon realise they have been deceived when the genuine tradesman requests payment for their services.

West Mercia Police has shared the message on behalf of Action Fraud.

They warned people to always check the email address is exactly the same as previous correspondence with the genuine contact.

For any request of payment via email, verify the validity of the request with a phone call to the person who carried out the work.

Check the email for spelling and grammar as these signs can indicate that the email is not genuine.

Unfortunately, payments via bank transfer offer no financial protection so consider using alternative methods such as a credit card or PayPal which offer protection and compensation.

Anyone who believes they have been a victim of fraud should report it online actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or call 0300 123 2040.