According to the Australian Oxford Dictionary a 'scam' is 'a fraudulent trick' or 'a swindle'. Swindlers or con artists are smart, friendly, persuasive and aggressive. They look for an easy opportunity to take your money. The greater the opportunity you offer and the easier you make it, the more you increase your chances of falling for a scam. People may be tricked in hundreds of ways, including pyramid schemes, bogus investments or lotteries, by using unlicensed or unqualified tradespeople, becoming tangled in an Internet web of deceit or simply buying goods and services without understanding their consumer rights and responsibilities. Scam operators are persistent and mobile. It's not unusual for a scam operation to be closed down in one State and to pop up under a new name somewhere else. The Little Black Book of Scams will help you to be prepared and reduce the possibility of you becoming the victim of these villains.