An increasing number of people in the Isle of Man are falling for scams, the police say.

Officers today said that they had seen a rise in reports of a number of residents being deceived into handing over and/or transferring large amounts of cash to individuals and/or companies who were purporting to be legitimate.

That had resulted in a number of people becoming victims of crime.

The police offered the following advice:

•If something seems too good to be true, it generally is ie paying a relatively small amount of cash in return for a larger amount of cash or cheap holidays.

•If you are contacted unexpectedly by an individual or company, do not provide any personal details to the caller in any circumstances. You are advised to end the call and call the individual or company on their known telephone number to seek clarification

•If you are contacted unexpectedly by an individual or company asking for money to be paid or transferred, do not part with any financial details or make any payments. Contact the individual or company on their known telephone number to clarify if such a payment has been requested or is required

•If you have been unexpectedly requested to transfer money or make payment by an unusual method i.e. Paypal, ITunes, Western Union etc. Do not make any payments and contact the individual or company to clarify if such a payment has been request or is required.

For further advice, contact the police on 631212 or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.