The State Government's WAScamNet initiative has protected Western Australian consumers from potentially losing millions of dollars in scams.
A conservative estimate by the government suggested scammers had missed out on more than $3.6million in 2005.
During the year, 24,000 scams were reported to WAScamNet at the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DOCEP), up on the 20,900 dubious deals reported in 2004.
Some of the biggest scams of the year included the David Rhodes chain letter, which claimed you could turn $218 into $77,760 in 60 days by operating the 'business plan' outlined in the letter.
The chain letter attracted 4,500 responses in WA.
The El Gordo Spanish Lottery was another widespread scam in WA. It told recipients they had won money in a lottery and were asked to provide personal financial details to deal with bogus 'government taxes' before they could collect their winnings.
Other scams included the UK Lottery, which operated similar to the El Gordo Lottery and the Maria Rosa psychic scam.
This scheme claimed a dark force was stopping you from winning $30,000 and that the 'tree of wonders' would drive away the dark force for $62.
Acting Consumer and Employment Protection Minister Sheila McHale said that with WAScamNet in place, many fraudsters were quickly found out.
The strategy of WAScamNet is to alert consumers quickly to the dangers of new scams circulating and give them advice on how to deal with fraudsters.
