SCAMMERS claiming to be from hit TV show The X Factor are targeting schools and inviting them to take part in a bogus recording session.

Pupils have been invited to take part in a ‘Christmas Recording’ as part of the show’s annual charity single.

But to register their interest schools are being asked to pay £10 per pupil.

One school in Hampshire was on the verge of paying out £2,000 before suspicions grew and Trading Standards were alerted.

An investigation revealed the whole story was a con.

Now schools across the county are being warned not to be taken in by the hoax that has already claimed victims in Essex and Hertfordshire.

Hampshire County Council has written to all head teachers telling them of the scam and not to part with any cash.

The Daily Echo has been contacted by a school, which said it received an email from someone claiming to be from the show that features Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osborne as judges.

Believing they were signing the school up to take part in The X Factor’s Christmas recording of their charity single at the ExCel Centre in London, the school was on the verge of parting with £2,000 before some extra checks revealed the opportunity was likely to be a hoax.

A spokesman for the county council confirmed that advice from Trading Standards had now been sent out to schools.

He said no schools in Hampshire were thought to have fallen victim to the scam.

Trading Standards have spoken to The X Factor and ITV, the station which airs the prime time Saturday night programme, where the singing public audition to appear on its live shows, with the winner awarded a recording contract.

They said that producers of The X-Factor, the brainchild of Simon Cowell, confirmed that they would never approach schools and would never ask for payment.

No one from The X Factor was able to speak to the Daily Echo.