A GOVERNMENT campaign warning people about postal scams is launched today.

The Rip Up Postal Rip-Offs campaign, devised by the Department of Trade and Industry, aims to raise awareness of the problem and help people recognise warning signs and avoid becoming victims.

It will encourage consumers to send suspected scam letters to the Office of Fair Trading to investigate, and offer guidance in new posters and leaflets available in Citizens' Advice Bureaux, libraries and post offices.

Among the examples being publicised is that involving a 93-year-old North Yorkshire woman.

She received about 600 mailings from companies in America, Canada, the Netherlands and Hong Kong, an average of 12 per week.

Most of them indicated that she had won an unspecified prize but said she could not claim it until she had made a payment.

After sending off a total of between £300 and £400, which left the woman in financial difficulties, she received about 25 prizes, which were largely cheap jewellery items.

The Government estimates that up to £100m a year could be lost in similar circumstances.

Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson said: "Postal scams can be very convincing and too many people are falling for their empty promises.

"Stop Now Orders enable us to take court action to stop these rogue traders, but new scams are always emerging.

"We all need to be more cynical about these so-called prize draws: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is."

Jim McCluskey, principal trading standards officer for Middlesbrough, said: "We have had a noticeable increase in this type of mail in the past couple of months. A lot of it originates from outside the EU and the controls will not be strong enough for this. Publicity is the key."