A PETERSFIELD woman has sent out a warning after being duped out of £200 by online scammers.

The woman was asked through an email to buy an Apple gift card on behalf of someone in hospital supporting their sick nephew.

The sender claimed his nephew was being treated for liver cancer on his birthday and that his mum died the month before from covid.

The sender had asked for help, as they were having difficulties buying the card online.

Phishing scams – which often include a promise of return payment – usually follow a “taster” heading to draw the reader in.

In this case, the sender claimed to have laryngitis, so couldn’t speak, and asked the woman to get in touch with the message being titled “Catching Up”.

Readers are always advised to treat such messages with extreme caution and never give bank details over the phone or online.

Some scammers – and many marketing companies – have also developed ways to use a local phone code for incoming calls, making some unwanted approaches hard to ignore.