It followed reports of people receiving mail claiming to be from National Payment Services. The documents told recipients they had won considerable sums of money and asked them to send nominal payments to an address supplied in order to claim their winnings.

Sergeant Roderick MacNeill, of Clydebank Police Office, said: “This is an international scam and enquiries are ongoing regarding this matter.

“If you receive paperwork that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Never send any cash or bank details in response to such a notification.”