Whatsapp reports being sent from a foreign phone number with the logo of the Malta Police Union are a scam, it warned on Tuesday.

The union said the messages, most of which are telling recipients that their residency status has expired, are being received from number +421905958511.

These "are not related by any means to the union, although a variation of the logo of the union (a registered TM) is being used," it said.

Urging recipients to ignore the messages, the union said in a statement it will never ask about any residency status or criminal history of a person as this was not within its remit.

The police have repeatedly warned about different scam messages being sent to mobile phones.