[Quote:]

A hoaxer has emailed relatives and friends of people missing since the Asia tsunami disaster, saying their loved ones have been confirmed dead.

The hoaxer, claiming to be from the Thai “Foreign Office Bureau”, targeted people who placed appeals on the Sky News website.

The Metropolitan Police said it was treating the messages, which came from one e-mail address, very seriously.

It added that the government would not use e-mail to inform people of a death.

The bogus address used is ukgovfoffice@aol.com.