Hartlepool Borough Council Trading Standards was alerted to the scam after a local man received a demand for £60 from Domain Registry Services.

The firm is currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Special Crime Unit and Trading Standards has confirmed it is bogus.

The man did not pay up and other site owners are being urged to do the same.

'Unscrupulous company'

Neil Harrison, of Trading Standards, said: "Scams like these are very common at the moment and often function in the same way.

"The customer feels obliged to pay because of the way the letter is worded and then the unscrupulous company disappears without trace.

"We urge people to throw letters from this company in the bin or get in touch with us."

The letter to the website owner warned him that his site was about to expire if he did not pay £60.

But he decided not to send the money because he did not recognise the name of the firm and alerted trading standards officers.

Mr Harrison added: "In cases like these the chances of getting the money back are remote."