An email is randomly targeting motorists informing them they have won a Kia car and then asking for their personal finance details.

Kia is warning motorists of the scam where email recipients are advised they have won up to £750,000 prize money and a free car in a lottery, and are then invited to provide various personal information including bank details.

The contact details include the name The Kia Company and e-mail and telephone numbers in the UK.

A spokesman for Kia Motors (UK), said: "We have never run an e-mail lottery. This is a despicable scam being carried out on unwitting members of the public by thieves.”

He said the people behind the hoax lottery may be based abroad, and that the manufacturer was working with the authorities to trace those responsible for the scam.