Two people in Paphos were defrauded out of a total of €37,000 after falling victim to a phishing scam, police said on Monday, warning the public to remain vigilant.

According to police, both cases followed a similar pattern.

The victims received a text message claiming to be from a well-known petrol company, informing them that their reward points would expire within three days unless they took immediate action.

The message included a link that directed them to a fake website, where they were prompted to enter their bank account details. This led to the unauthorised withdrawal of large sums of money from their accounts.

Police urged the public to exercise caution and avoid entering sensitive personal or banking information on suspicious websites or links.

Investigations by the Paphos police are underway.