Be warned - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

People who respond even once to an e-mail, letter or telephone scam are liable to feature on "suckers lists", attracting increased attention from fraudsters, the Director of Consumer Affairs has warned.

The details of such "suckers" are collected and sold at a premium to other scammers, who will then target them with offers of free holidays, huge investment returns or money for nothing.

The consumer affairs office is marking April Fools Day with the launch of a "Scams Awareness Campaign" and the message that, for the unscrupulous, every day is April 1st.

Director John Shine admits it is difficult to take legal action against scammers, because many offers are carefully worded and may not infringe any law. However, he says pending new legislation next year designed to increase public protection, an "informed consumer" is the best weapon against scam artists.

"People should remember there's no such thing as a free lunch. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Scam activity in Ireland is expected to increase over the next year as SSIA accounts mature, the office of the director warns.

Schemes designed to part the naive from their money range from door-to-door callers offering work for upfront payment, to transnational internet frauds such as the notorious Nigerian 419 scam.

In the latter, named after a section of Nigeria's criminal code but variations of which are now run from many countries, help is enlisted for the transfer of supposed fortunes into western bank accounts. In practice, any funds transfer goes the other way.

The office of the Director of Consumer Affairs says the most common scams in Ireland come disguised as special promotions, prizes or free holiday offers designed to elicit bank account or credit card details. Another staple is the pyramid scheme, such as the one currently being investigated by gardaí in Meath.

Up to 1,000 people in the Kells area are thought to have been involved in the so-called "People in Profit Scheme", which collapsed last year leaving some members with losses of up to €100,000.

The ODCA's website (www.odca.ie) offers advice on how to protect yourself by, for example, avoiding premium rate phone-calls to claim "prizes" and being suspicious of companies that give only PO box numbers for contact. Consumers are also urged to withhold bank account or credit card details from companies about which they know nothing.