Bank customers in Bradford are being warned of a new generation of internet scams aimed at conning them out of their cash.

A number of e-mails are circulating purporting to be from banks warning of attempts to gain access to internet banking accounts.

Lloyds TSB and Co-operative customers are among those being targeted by the con artists.

The e-mails look authentic, bearing a return link very similar to what appears to be the bank's official website link.

However, spokesmen for both banks have stated that they would never e-mail customers requesting personal details.

They warned customers not to fall for the scam.

The e-mail sent from scam artists claiming to represent the Co-op bank reads as follows: Dear Customer, Our security systems has recorded an unusual log in attempt into your online banking account. This attempt was made from an unfamiliar and blacklisted IP address noted for fraudulent transactions: (86.156.196.0).

Consequently, we placed a temporary restriction on your account. We did this to protect your account from any fraudulent activity.

To restore your online access and remove all the restrictions we placed on your account please (contact) www.cooperativebank.co.uk.' The e-mail claiming to be from Lloyds TSB states: Dear Valued Lloyds TSB, Lloyds TSB Bank has a strict policy to ensure all of our customer's emails associated with their bank accounts are confirmed.' It adds: Email verification must be performed within 1 business day from receiving this email. Failure to comply will result in online banking suspension and limited account activity.' A spokesman for Lloyds TSB said: "These scams are not new but the fraudsters are becoming more adept at it.

"The first thing to state is that we would never e-mail customers requesting personal details.

"If anyone receives one of these e-mails they should disregard it.

"These people send out e-mails to groups of people, some of whom will be customers of the bank while others will not.

"The e-mail address can often look very similar to the legitimate address but the front of the message is altered.

"For instance, all our e-mail addresses start with Lloydstsb.com - anything written before that means it is not from us."