WILTSHIRE Trading Standards officers are warning people not to be duped by a chain letter con.

Trading Standards have received complaints from people who have received chain letters asking them to send money to a list of addresses.

Many of these letters have been posted without a stamp and the unwary recipient has to pay to collect the letter from the Post Office, only to find it is a worthless chain letter.

Officers say the best thing people who receive one of these letters can do is to throw them in the bin and not to respond to them.

Sue Wilkin, the senior support officer at Wiltshire County Council, said: "Many innocent and naive people lose money because of these scams.

"We hope to raise awareness among people and reduce the number of Wiltshire residents who suffer because of a chain letter.

"While many of these letters could be regarded as illegal it is often difficult to trace the originator."

Anyone needing advice can call the Trading Standards advice line on 08451 201202.