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The email purports to be a job offer from the Advertising International Company that promises earnings of over $1000 a week as long as you are over 18 and a UK resident. You also (and here's the catch) have to have a UK bank account with Barclays, Egg

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or Lloyds TSB in order to 'receive remittances' from overseas clients of which you will receive seven per cent commission. And, of course, you need to email 'Adversting' the details of the bank account.

The company itself claims to be based in the US and Russia and its website offers a detailed description of the operations of the company.

When alerted to the risk that customers may allow someone access to their bank account, Barclays said it will update its security advice and warn its account holders not to give out their details to anybody. It said it will also contact other companies mentioned in the email, and the trade body APACS (the Association of Payment Clearing Services), warning them of the danger.

When we rang the US telephone number of the registered domain owner we just got an answerphone message. At the time of writing the website owners had not returned our calls.