The alarm was raised when residents in Kirkintilloch and Milton of Campsie received letters saying they had won £800,000.

The letters claimed the winning 'lottery numbers' had been randomly selected by a computer and urged the householders to call a premium rate phone line and provide bank account details.

One resident said: "The letter looks very official, but I ripped it up straight away as I suspected it was a scam.

"I contacted the Herald because I was worried some people might be tricked by this letter and end up losing all their money."

An East Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: "There are countless numbers of these lottery scams on the go. People receiving letters telling them they have won cash in a foreign lottery should be very careful.

"The scammers are becoming more sophisticated and their correspondence is often designed to appear like a personal letter rather than junk mail.

"Giving your bank details over the phone, as is being suggested by this letter, is giving the scammers a green light to clean out your account.

"It is important that residents keep their wits about them if they receive correspondence of this nature."

A spokesperson for Trading Standards said: "If it looks too good to be true then it probably is.

"There are a couple of scams similar to this ongoing at any one time and we would advise people to contact us if they have been targeted."

Trading Standards can be contacted on 0141 761 4897.