Toronto police are investigating a case of internet fraud, in which someone is hacking into email accounts and posing as the unsuspecting user in order to ask for money.

Police said in a release issued Sunday that the scam begins when the hacker finds a way into an email account and changes the password so that the account is inaccessible to the legitimate user.

Posing as the account holder, the fraudster then claims to be stuck in a foreign city, such as Birmingham, England.

That person will ask the account holder's friends and colleagues, who are found in the email address list, to send money via a Western Union account, police said.

If a recipient of this email replies, the con artist will engage in short email responses, pleading for the money to be sent quickly.

Toronto police Det. Murray Barnes told The Canadian Press he has been aware of the scam for about 18 months. Most recently, a hacker targeted a Toronto medical professional's account, he said. Two of the 400 people who received the request sent as much as $2,500 to the fraudster.

Police advise people to verify the content and the source of the email and never give out passwords or personal details.

With files from The Canadian Press