Irish consumers warned of falling for scams

Gullible Irish consumers are losing millions every year to scamsters and rip-off merchants.

They are being lured - usually via email or letter - by the promise of huge prizes and glamorous holidays in the sun.

With April Fool's Day upon us, the National Consumer Agency has warned that the cost of responding to a hoax could be much more than the reward supposedly on offer.

Spokesman Brendan Moylan is urging people to check their website for details of the main scams of the moment.

He said studies in the UK have shown that of the 8% of people who responded to scams last year, they paid out €350bn, which would imply that up to €350m could have been lost by Irish people.