The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will be conducting an 'internet sweep' this month in which its officers will search the web for scams and attempt to investigate them.

The sweep is part of the government's Scam Awareness Month, which runs through February. The Department for Trade and Industry and the OFT are jointly sponsoring the campaign, which aims to make consumers aware of 'how to spot scams and how to report them'.

The campaign will also include leaflets, radio advertising and competitions as well as online competitions and how-to guides. The office says it is working with private companies involved in technology to attempt to stop scammers from reaching consumers in the first place.

The OFT identified the 12 most common types of scams which consumers fall for. These included misleading prize draws, foreign lotteries, premium rate phone lines, miracle cures, pyramid selling schemes and matrix schemes, where consumers join a waiting list for an expensive product.

Consumer affairs minister Gerry Sutcliffe said that the government has set aside £3 million to fund local 'scambusters' teams over the next two years. The teams will operate across several local authorities and in different parts of England, Scotland and Wales. The areas to receive local scambusters teams will be announced next month.

In January, the OFT was criticised by MPs for being 'meek' and for not using its powers effectively. The parliamentary public accounts committee said that it took too long to investigate cases.

John Fingleton, chief executive of the OFT, said that the office was unable to prosecute many of the scammers it caught, because misleading advertising is a civil rather than criminal offence.

The OFT's top 12 scams:
Prize draws and sweepstake mailings
Foreign lotteries
Premium rate telephone line competitions
Miracle health and slimming cures
Work-at-home and business opportunity offerings
Advance fee fraud or '419' letters
Clairvoyant and psychic mailings
Pyramid selling and chain letters
Offers to become a successful model, author or investor
High-risk investments in shares, wines, art or gems
Matrix schemes
Bogus holiday clubs