Police have spoken of their disgust at a new fraud scam where crooks pretend to represent the Vatican and dupe the public into handing over bank details.

The bogus correspondence is being sent to random e-mail addresses and promises to give them ten per cent commission on any "charity funds" passed through their account.

The e-mail is sent from an unlikely Hotmail address - officeoftheholy father11@hotmail.com - and claims: "We are writing this letter to you as a Holy offer to work for the Vatican Church as our only official secret distributor of charity funds to our several registered charity organisations with topmost secrecy.

"Please kindly respond immediately to this message by sending your personal response without delay. We shall then guide you through the mandatory required steps to attain the secret holy post.

"Remain blessed and best regards from the office of the Holy Father of the Vatican Church."

The e-mail was sent to a resident in Basildon and passed on to police, who not surprisingly, recognised it as a fake.

PC Terry Wheeler, fraud officer at Basildon police, said: "It seems fraudsters are up to their old tricks with a different story.

"We would urge the public to take extreme caution with all letters from abroad that promise large quantities of money for doing next to nothing, or ask for bank details.

"When things seem too good to be true, they often are."

Anyone else who receives suspicious letters or e-mails can pass them on to PC Wheeler, who can be contacted at Basildon police station on 01268 532212.