HAMPSHIRE Country Watch is alerting people to be on guard against common fraudulent activity.

These currently include:

* Mail scams – con artists use fake lotteries and prize draws, get-rich-quick schemes, bogus health cures and pyramid selling to get money from their victims;

* Investment scams – the victim is offered investment opportunities in land, fine wines, gems, share sales or carbon credits which have little or no value;

* Romance scams: the scammer meets someone on a dating site and gains their trust. They tell their victim they need money for a family emergency or flights over to see them;

* Courier fraud – fraudsters call and trick the victim into handing cards and PIN numbers to a courier on their doorstep or making them think they are helping in a police investigation by getting them to withdraw large amounts of cash;

* Fraud recovery scam – when fraudsters approach the victim again under a different guise, such as Trading Standards or Court officials, demanding money up front in order to finance court action to recoup some of the losses from the original crime.

The police urge vicitims to report incidents like this via 101, or 999 in an emergency.

To report fraudulent activity anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.