WARNING OVER 'PSYCHIC HEALER' SCAM

Trading Standards officers have warned people to watch out for an "insidious" scam which preys on people's religious beliefs.

Lincoln residents are being bombarded with leaflets, supposedly sent by a "world famous psychic healer" called Karina Natalia.

Ms Natalia claims that she has chosen the recipient of the letter to receive her prayers of "wealth, luck and happiness" when she makes a pilgrimage to Lourdes in France.

She claims those prayers will be answered to the tune of £75,000 if the letter recipient is lucky.

The letter does not ask for money, but it does ask people to fill in the questionnaire on the back.

The personal details requested include the recipient's full name, date of birth and place of birth.

This is nearly enough information with which to open a bank account.

And the sender also asks for information on pets', partners' and spouses' names - the information a lot of people use as bank and e-mail account passwords.

The owner of Arrow Cycles in Newark Road, North Hykeham, Carole Thompson, received one of the letters.

"I thought this was pretty disgusting in the way it focuses on religious belief and people's feelings for their loved ones and pets," she said.

Lincolnshire trading standards divisional manager Mark Keal said: "It is pretty insidious the way they target people like this.

"We get a lot of these scams, some are very aggressive and almost scare people into offering up information, others are a little more persuasive and subtle like this one."