POLICE have issued a series of internet auction site safety tips after a spate of offences against Wiltshire residents.

Wiltshire Constabulary's Fraud Squad is urging users of services such as e-Bay to conduct all transactions through the site rather than directly with a 'seller'.

A police spokesman said: "If you do not, then you do so at your own peril as this is a common opening for a scam."

The police advise the following:

Treat all e-mails with caution. Some that appear to be from the website are from fraudsters seeking details you should not provide.

Pay via bonafide operators such as PayPal or Nochex and not money transfer.

Never accept offers stating the buyer will pay excess if you refund that later. The payments are likely to be made via stolen cards.

Check the history of buyers and sellers. Read comments about them carefully.

Treat anyone with a roaming e-mail account such as hotmail or yahoo with caution. Most fraudsters work from internet cafes.

The spokesman said: "Whilst the above advice is not foolproof, following these simple rules will go some way to helping prevent more Wiltshire residents from falling victim to what are becoming very common scams."