The Office of Fair Trading believes scams cost UK consumers at least 3.5 billion pounds in 2008 and three million UK consumers a year fall victim to scams sent via post, email, text message and over the phone. Chances are you have been targeted at some point, be it via bogus lotteries, ‘free’ holidays, premium-rate calls and fraudulent individuals posing as bona fide salespersons.

So what can you do to avoid being caught out by scammers? How can you tell the difference between a scam and a genuine prize? You first line of defense should always be, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Beyond that, there are a number of useful tools that will help you spot a scam before your pride, and your pocket, takes a knock.

If you are contacted by phone, then you can check the origin of the call on the website whocallsme.com. The site is a user supplied database of numbers of telemarketers, non-profit organisations, charities, scam artists and other companies. Searching for a number will reveal user feedback on the caller. If it is a fraudster, then you certainly won’t have been the only one they have tried to contact.

To help you protect your computer and to stop spam mail and other attempts at online fraud, Get Safe Online is full of information about anti-virus software, firewalls, dealing with suspicious emails and safeguarding your personal details from identity theft. Take these precautions and you are far less likely to be contacted by scammers in the first place.

Online shopping is safe and secure if you are know how to spot a dodgy seller. You need to know you are buying from a reputable company and that your payment details are safe. Follow this guide to avoiding online rip-offs.

Most people are aware of the dangers of phishing (a type of spam email that goes after your passwords and bank codes), but you should still read Moneysavingexpert.com’s guide to avoiding them. The site also has tips on stopping junk mail, calls, texts and other forms of spam.

You can block unsolicited sales and marketing calls to your home or mobile phone by joining the Telephone Preference Service. Once you have registered for free, it is illegal for organisations to call you. The Mailing Preference Service works in the same way and will stop junk mail from falling through your letter box.

Being billed for receiving text messages you did not want in the first place is just as annoying. Regulator PhonePayPlus allows you to check strange numbers that appear on your bill and will investigate complaints about companies that refuse to stop sending you messages.

One of the best sources of advice and information in our battle against fraudsters and scammers is Consumer Direct. Set up by the Department of Trade and Industry, the website is there to help anyone who fears they may be the victim of rogue money-making schemes. The site offers a guide to recognising scams as well as advice on preventing unwanted sales calls, emails and texts. It also allows you to report a scam and learn how to take action against those who go after your hard earned cash.

Our guest blogger Tom Ilube comments on news that Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), working with the FBI, has smashed Darknet, a fraudulent website that allowed fraudsters around the world to trade in credit card details and find out about the latest online scams.

Tom is Chief Executive Officer of online identity company Garlik, and the views expressed are his own.

“The news highlights just how professional and organised this area of fraudulent activity is becoming. We have moved way beyond the amateur identity thief rooting around in your bin looking for a casually discarded bank statement. Today’s identity thieves are professionals. They seek out and harvest personal data - through theft and phishing, hacking even buying data - and they sell it through a thriving international online black economy like Darkmarket.

Darkmarket was an example of one of many public and private international communities that are active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with many thousands of anonymous participants trading tens of thousands, if not millions, of items of information.

Credit cards, bank accounts, passport details, names and addresses, account logins, flow through these places continuously - it is difficult to monitor and very difficult to police.

SOCA and the FBI’s success in this case is to be applauded, but no-one should be under the illusion that the battle has been won. The word on the street is that since Darkmarket was shut down at least 8 new illegal trading forums have sprung up and begun trading. As one expert commented, pinning these guys down is ‘like catching mist’.”