North Wales Police are warning people to be vigilant after more than £44,000 was lost through an online scam.

Urging readers to make friends and family aware, NWP said over £44,000 has been lost through a Facebook Messenger scam in which fraudsters hack into user’s accounts and send messages to friends asking for use of their PayPal account, leaving it in a negative balance.

“The message appears from a friend or family member and states they have sold something on Ebay that their PayPal account is not working and asks if the money can be transferred through theirs instead and then forwarded to an account controlled by the fraudsters,” a police spokesperson said.

“Once the money is transferred, the initial transaction is reversed, leaving the PayPal account in a negative balance.

“Please make friends and family aware.”