A Christmas scam alert has been issued – with a warning that con artists have tricked an estimated £100m out of Northern Ireland consumers this year.

The shock total was released by the Government's Trading Standards Service, who said the ill-gotten gains were amassed through the likes of bogus lotteries and prize draws.

It also issued a “10 scams of Christmas” list to help people give themselves a festive treat by fighting back against the cheats.

Damien Doherty, from Trading Standards Service, said: “While we may all think that we are too canny to get caught out by the scammers, evidence shows otherwise. There has been an upturn in complaints since the beginning of the recession.”

The scams most commonly reported to Trading Standards are:

1 Debt elimination: Cold-calling operators giving people false hope that their debts could be cancelled on the grounds that credit agreements may be unenforceable. A large up-front fee, often up to £1,000, is sought for credit agreement checks. In reality, many claims are exaggerated.

2 Fake websites selling counterfeit goods: The most common complaints are about GHD hair straighteners, UGG boots and jewellery. However, consumers have also reported buying a wide variety of fake goods ranging from shoes to iPods. The main areas of risk are auction sites and entirely fake websites. The advice is to stick to familiar brand-name or retailer websites and to use search engines to research a site.

3 ‘Free Trial’ slimming and beauty products: Consumers are led to believe that, when purchasing their free sample online, they are paying only for its postage and packaging. However, they have in fact signed up to a £69 per month regular supply.

4 Satellite Insurance: Letters or telephone calls are received from insurance salesmen who falsely claim to represent Sky. Consumers are led to believe that their existing satellite insurance cover is to expire and they have been offered another contract for 12 months. Customers are asked to provide their bank account details, resulting in them paying for two insurance contracts.

5 Vehicle matching: This scam works by promising to match consumers who are selling their cars with definite buyers. Typically, the seller is cold-called by telephone, having placed an advertisement in a magazine, website or newspaper. The seller is assured that a buyer exists for the vehicle which they are selling on condition a ‘matcher’s fee’ of £99 is paid up front before the sale is completed. In reality, there is no buyer and any money paid is lost.

6 Business publishing: Businesses may be told they have placed an order previously or that a colleague has agreed to take out advertising space. Rogue publishers may send invoices to businesses who had said no to a phone sales pitch, or follow up the invoices with threats of legal action.

7 Online ticket scams: Tickets bought via a website but never delivered, with calls and emails going unanswered.

8 Pay-in-advance credit offers: Companies claim people have ‘pre-qualified' to get a low-interest loan or credit card, or repair their bad credit. But to take advantage of the offer they have to pay a processing fee of several hundred pounds.

9 Phishing: A scam email purporting to be from HM Revenue & Customs is sent to unwitting recipients suggesting that they are eligible for a tax refund. To claim the refund, it is suggested that they should complete a claim form online. HMRC say they would never make contact in this way.

10 Health and Safety: Another con that targets businesses, with con-artists claiming to work for the authorities. Traders are cold-called and offered assistance to help them comply with health and safety legal requirements. The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland does not cold-call businesses.