As if the fight against banks over penalty charges wasn't difficult enough, now you have to contend with people trying to scam you by pretending to be the good guys!

The chaps over at the Office of Fair Trading have warned people to be on their guard as there is a new scam involving fraudsters purporting to be from the OFT!

The OFT said a number of consumers have been telephoned by callers claiming to be from the watchdog and able to reclaim bank charges on their behalf. The callers ask you for personal and financial details, which are then used to steal money from you!

This latest scam is cashing in on the continuing saga of bank penalty charges and comes only a month after OFT and a number of UK lenders agreed to go to court in a test case about overdraft charges.

The OFT said it was not clear how many people had been affected by the scam and they aren't sure how long the problem had been going on for. But it said on Friday that these callers have no connection with the OFT and they clearly wanted to use the information for identity theft purposes, to run up bills or commit crimes using stolen details.

"The OFT will never contact consumers asking them for personal bank details," it said in a statement.

The OFT says you should not pass on personal information to cold callers either over the phone or via email!.

If you have already unwittingly given out such information, the OFT recommends you contact your bank as soon as possible!

For further advice, you should call Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 or visit the scams area on the OFT website at www.oft.gov.uk.

So keep your eyes and ears open; after all, if you have lost enough money over penalty charges, then why lose more to scammers?

Petition Gordon Brown about bank penalty charges!