POLICE are urging people to be wary after receiving reports of a WhatsApp scam circulating in Burtonwood and Winwick.

Residents in the two villages have reported the scam to their local Cheshire Police community support officer.

It involves residents receiving messages on the social media platform from scammers pretending to be friends and family members.

They say their mobile phone is broken, hence why they are messaging from an unknown number, and ask for money to have their phone repaired.

Posting on social media via the Burtonwood and Winwick Police account, the force is warning people not to fall for the scam and to report suspicious messages to the National Cyber Security Centre.

The post reads: “Just a heads up, we have had numerous reports of a WhatsApp scam pretending to be friends and family.

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“The scammer will claim to have a broken mobile phone, hence why they are contacting you on a different number, and they need money to repair it.

“Please do not fall for this if you do get a message like this – ring the person who they are pretending to be with the current contact number you have for them, not the one they sent the message from, to verify if it is legit or not.”

Officers say residents who receive scam messages should report them via ncsc.gov.uk