CLEVELAND Police are warning people about a pay day loans scam.

Victims are being asked to sign up to phone contracts – and pay day loans are being taken out in their name.

Contact with victims has usually been through social networking site Facebook and they are offered work through a cleaning or phone company.

The next contact with the victim is usually via telephone, whereby a man asks them to give their bank details for payroll.

The pay day loans have then been set up in the victims’ name.

In some cases victims have been asked to take out between three and five phone contracts in their name and hand over the phones to receive payment for them, which never materialises.

After three months the phone networks, who have also received no money, sell the debt to a debt recovery agency, who then pursue the victim for the outstanding costs.

PC Lorene Haworth said: “Do not be caught out by these scams. Offers that look too good to be true usually are. Care needs to be taken with who you give your personal details and bank details to and if in any doubt, search a company online or call 101 or Action Fraud for advice.”