Don't get your fingers burned in the holiday sun

Don't get your fingers burned in the holiday sun

Mass-marketed scams are costing victims £3.5bn a year, according to new figures from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). This week, the consumer watchdog launched Scams Awareness Month.

The campaign is designed to alert consumers to swindles. "The easy availability of spam emails and cheap phone calls means the number of scam attempts continues to rise," it warns. "Vulnerable people are most at risk as they can be often deliberately targeted."

That £3.5bn figure is almost certainly an underestimate, as many victims do not report their loss to local trading standards departments or to the OFT, either out of embarrassment or because the sum is small.

OFT records show that while investment-based schemes such as boiler rooms take the really big money, the five most widespread scams are:

· Bogus holiday clubs These are estimated to cost UK consumers £1.17bn a year, with 400,000 victims losing an average of £3,030 each. However, many hand over £6,000 or more. Holidaymakers are lured to presentations, often in Spanish resorts but also in the UK, with the offer of a prize - usually a "free" family holiday. While there, they are pressurised into joining a holiday club, promising cut-price breaks. This is not covered by European Union rules on timeshare. The clubs do not deliver what they promise as the free holiday costs a lot and there are no discounts on future vacations.

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· Prize draw and sweepstake scams You get a mailshot promising a huge prize. But you have to send a fee first - generally £30. There are no big prizes, though you may get a cheap trinket. In 2006, this cost 380,000 people a total of £60m. A variation is the premium rate "lottery" line. Here you are drawn in by the promise of a car or a big cash award. You end up with only a £10 phone bill. This cost a million victims £80m last year.

· Miracle health and slimming cures Pills, lotions and creams promise to cure everything from baldness to cancer. All are useless - and some may be harmful. More than 200,000 wallets are hurt to the tune of £20m a year. Victims are seen as likely to pay up again and will get more junk mail.

· Clairvoyant mailings Letters from a so-called psychic or clairvoyant offer predictions for an up-front payment. Some threaten disaster or physical harm if people do not pay. Starting with a "general reading" costing £25 or so, you are then drawn in to ever more expensive material. Some 70% of victims are women. This scam costs 170,000 adults £40m a year.

· Fake foreign lotteries Consumers receive a letter, phone call or email telling them they have won a million pound-plus payout in an overseas lottery. The lottery is often real but, as the recipients have never bought a ticket, it is impossible to win. Victims end up sending thousands in "administration" fees to recover their imaginary "winnings". The OFT says 140,000 lose £260m a year on this. Spanish mobile phone numbers - starting 00346 - are a giveaway sign.