It is astonishing how people are so easily taken in by fraudsters.

It appears that many take leave of their senses when a letter promising all sorts of riches drops on the doormat.

They will happily ring a premium rate number or send cash to an unfamiliar address in the hope of making their fortune.

Of course, it never happens. The victims end up with nothing, and the fraudsters laugh all the way to the bank.

Latest figures suggest that 30,000 people in Oxfordshire are fleeced out of £2m a year in a variety of scams.

That 30,000 must include people who, in their ordinary lives, would be classed as sensible and intelligent.

Now a new drive is being launched in the county to warn of the dangers of being sucked into such frauds.

We hope everyone will heed the warnings.

In particular, we need to alert elderly relatives of the pitfalls they will inevitably face if they respond to such literature.

We should all remember the old adage - if something looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is.