Think twice before you respond to e-mails requesting help in financial matters, even if the user claims to be a credit officer for the Bank of Bermuda (Isle of Man) Limited.

The warning comes from the Financial Supervision Commission of the Isle of Man Government which recently became aware of a number of e-mails received by members of the public from a ?credit officer of the Bank of Bermuda (Isle of Man) Limited?.

This so-called credit officer, Cynthia Hayton, claimed that a customer of the bank, Khalid Faza had made a number of fixed deposits for 19 calendar months, with a value of $62.4 million in her branch.

The e-mail goes on to state that Mr. Faza and his entire family were killed when a bomb blast hit their home in Iraq and that he did not declare next of kin in his official papers.

The e-mail seeks assistance of the recipient to ?stand as the next of kin to Mr. Khalid Faza so that you will be able to receive his funds?.

The Financial Supervision Commission warned that while there was a genuine holder of an Isle of Man Banking License called Bank of Bermuda (Isle of Man) Limited, there was no credit officer or other employee by the name of Cynthia Hayton.

Under the circumstances, the Commission felt that these e-mails were being issued to either tempt the recipient into becoming the victim of an Advance Fee Fraud, or are an attempt to gain personal data from the recipient in order to steal their identify.

The Commission encouraged people to refrain from responding to the e-mails in any way. Anyone already involved in any dealings resulting from such an e-mails should contact the Enforcement Division of the Financial Supervision Commission at fscgov.im

Anyone who has paid out funds in relation to the above e-mail or who have provided personal financial details in relation to the above e-mail, should consider contacting their local police fraud unit without delay.