Berks residents have been warned about a fake Cadbury Easter egg scam that has been circulating on social media.

The Thames Valley Neighbourhood Watch Association has issued a warning to all Berkshire residents to avoid clicking on links in any Whatsapp messages claiming to offer free Easter chocolate.

The link included in the message ends with .ru – suggesting it is a Russian-based domain. Geoff Pegg, administrator of the town’s neighbourhood watch association, pointed out that there is no good reason for Cadbury to have a supposed Russian website.

In an alert sent to residents, it said: “There is a WhatsApp message (and probably other media too) purporting to be from Cadbury offering free chocolate accompanied by the picture of a Cadbury Easter.

“It gives a link to click on but within the link there is ‘.ru’. This points out that it is a Russian domain and nothing to do with Cadbury.

“So people are well-advised not to click on it, as one shouldn't do on any suspect message.”

The scam has not just been circulating around Berkshire, but has been seen across the country in the past few days.

The Cyber Crime Unit attached to Dorset Police investigated the link and confirmed it was a "phishing" scam attempting to get personal data from the people who click it.

In a post on social media, it explained how the scam works.

It said: “First thing to pay attention to is that short URL. There's a good reason why we don't like short URLs in the Cyber Crime Unit... They make it much harder to tell where you're actually heading. Also, that .ru domain. There's no good reason for Cadbury to have a Russian address.

“Then there's the website itself. DON'T CLICK THE LINK. Our Cyber Protect Officer has done it for you.

“The site looks fairly convincing, however, the only buttons that actually work are the ones to answer the questions. The search icon and the three little lines do nothing at all.

“Once you answer those questions, you're taken to a little game where you have to ‘find your prize’.

“Conveniently, your first and second tries won't be successful, but you'll ‘win’ on your third go! At that point, to claim your ‘prize’, you'll be asked to hand over all sorts of personal information. That's where the scam comes in.

“Far too high a price to pay for some free chocolate. Especially when Creme Eggs are two for a quid!”

If you believe you have been targeted by an online scam, or if you would like some advice on how to avoid scams like this, click here for the most up-to-date tips and advice from Thames Valley Police.