Bogus get-rich letters offering millions of American dollars are being sent to households in West Yorkshire.

The letters are being sent out from Nigeria offering the recipient the chance to earn a fortune by allowing "top officials" to deposit more than $21 million in their account.

But police and trading standards officers are warning people to throw them away and not get involved.

Police fraud squad officers say the letter is a scam.

Keighley man John Finn received a letter asking for his banking details and company's name so the cash could be transferred to his account.

"I worked in Nigeria for a couple of years and there are some real rogues out there," he said.

Mr Finn, of Cross Roads, works in the print industry and is a member of the Institute of Printing.

"The letters MIOP were on the envelope after my name so I suspect they just did a mailshot of members," he said.

Detective Constable George Nicholson, of the Fraud Intelligence Unit, said anyone replying to the letter would be asked to fly to Nigeria and then be told they would have to provide thousands of pounds to bribe officials so money could be transferred to their account.

"I don't think there are many people who take them up but I understand in the past someone went out and lost their money.

"Our advice is not to have anything to do with them," DC Nicholson said. "It's a way of getting banking details, signature and personal details or to get them out there and implicate them in criminal activities.

"People should think carefully before they give bank account or financial details of any sort. They should check on the company to make sure it is bona fide through trading standards and the Citizens' Advice Bureau."

Anyone who has received similar letters is asked to send them to DC Nicholson c/o PO Box 9, Wakefield, WF1 3QP.

A trading standards spokesman said this was a well-known fraud which people should ignore.

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