Warning over newspaper job advert

A job advertisement has been removed from a Lanarkshire newspaper after fears it could be a scam.

A reader raised concerns with the Hamilton Advertiser after she responded to the notice looking for a book-keeper for a small arts company.

Marion Stewart, from Bothwell, said "alarm bells started ringing" when she received a reply asking her to deposit certified cheques into her account.

She said she immediately reported the matter to the paper and the police.

Mrs Stewart said the advertisement seemed to be legitimate, but she was concerned by the e-mail that followed.

The ad is under investigation and has been passed on to our solicitors Hamilton Advertiser

She said: "It was only when I got the e-mail that alarm bells started ringing.

"It was from a man who claimed to be an artist living in Malta who needed someone to cash his cheques, in return for a 10% fee."

Mrs Stewart said when she ran an internet search on name of the so-called artist, she found he had been implicated in a notorious "419" scam.

The scams are named after a Nigerian anti-fraud law, used to prosecute fraudsters who use mass e-mails to trick people into parting with money.

Mrs Stewart said she raised the issue with the paper and the police to make sure no one else replied to the advertisement.

She said: "I have heard about this kind of thing before, but it's only when you experience it yourself that you realise how easily you could be taken in."

Ann Wilson, telesales executive at the Hamilton Advertiser, said the newspaper acted quickly to remove the advert.

She said: "As soon as something comes to our attention we remove it straight away. The ad is under investigation and has been passed on to our solicitors."

A spokeswoman from Strathclyde Police said people should be aware if this type of e-mail.

She said: "People should take care when sending money over the internet. If you are suspicious at all do some research first."