BANKING giant HBOS is warning customers to be wary of bogus e-mail scams.

It comes after Halifax customers reported receiving fake e-mails asking them to submit personal financial details online.

The bank admitted it receives regular complaints about "phishing" scams where fraudsters copy a genuine business webpage - such as a bank - to fool customers into revealing their sign-in details, including user name and password.

In the latest scam, customers received an e-mail from Halifax Secure advising them the company had received their account password.

They were asked to change this password and pass on their three-digit card security number.

The bank said all suspect e-mails were automatically passed on to its Fraud Investigation Team but admitted that it was virtually impossible to keep track of the problem.

It comes just weeks after the Evening Times told how a businessman's Bank of Scotland account was emptied when he was targeted by a similar scam.

Hackers targeted company owner Steven Watson as he tried to check an account online from his home in Uplawmoor, East Renfrewshire.

Mr Watson, who runs Scotia Boiler Services, discovered £3109 he'd put aside for VAT payments had been stolen from his account.

Bank of Scotland bosses pledged to refund every penny to the customer.

A spokesman for HBOS said: "Phishing scams are nothing new. We receive e-mails from customers about the problem on a regular basis.

"It is extremely difficult for banks to monitor what is literally thousands of fake e-mails. If any customer receives such an e-mail we would advise them to send them to us."