Godly Rewards

You have said, "It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out His requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape." - Malachi 3:14-15

Have you ever felt that serving God had little reward and the ungodly seemed actually to be more blessed than you? This is what the people of God felt. God heard their cry and responded through the prophet Malachi to explain God's view on this matter.

Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name. "They will be Mine," says the Lord Almighty, "in the day when I take up My treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not" (Malachi 3:16-18).

Notice that after the people complained about this, they began to talk to each other, and the Lord listened and heard. God had been taking note of those who were serving Him and honoring Him. There is a day coming in which God will honor His "treasured possessions." We will see that there is a distinction between the righteous and the wicked on that day when "the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall" (Mal. 4:2). What a beautiful picture of what we will feel like on that day.

God rewards faithful obedience. It often requires patience, suffering, and perseverance. Be of good cheer; He will reward you if you faint not.

by Os Hillman, February 24, 2006

Nigeria 'hostage pictures' shown

A Nigerian rebel group has released photographs that appear to show seven of the nine foreign oil workers recently kidnapped in the Niger Delta.
The pictures show men, believed to be the hostages, sitting on a bench with masked gunmen behind them.

The militants - who are campaigning for the rights of the local Ijaw people - have demanded more local control over the region's oil revenues.

Their attacks have led to a 20% drop in Nigeria's oil exports.

The foreign workers - three Americans, two Thais, two Egyptians, a Briton and a Filipino - were seized last Saturday while laying a Shell pipeline.





Earlier this week Nigeria's government said it had assembled a team to negotiate their release.

The nine hostages were working for Willbros, a US engineering firm which is a Shell sub-contractor, in the Forcados river, 50km (30 miles) west of the oil port city of Warri, when they were abducted.

The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it launched Saturday's attacks to avenge a series of helicopter strikes on local Ijaw villages.

The Nigerian military said it targeted barges being used by militants to smuggle stolen oil.

Nigeria is Africa's leading oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of US oil imports.

Travel ban in Kenya scam inquiry

Kenyan police have instructed some 20 leading figures, including officials politicians, not to leave the country, as corruption investigations continue.
The 20 are allegedly linked to the "Goldenberg" affair, in which millions of dollars were paid for non-existent exports of gold and diamonds.

One of those ordered to deposit his passport is George Saitoti, who on Monday resigned as education minister.

The government is also threatened by a separate corruption scandal.

Meanwhile, some 80 MPs have urged President Mwai Kibaki to sack his deputy, Moody Awori, who is accused of involvement in the "Anglo Leasing" affair, which has cost two ministers their jobs this month.

They have threatened to stage street protests on Friday unless their demands are met.

Mr Kibaki was elected in 2002 on a pledge to fight the corruption which had characterised the previous administration of Daniel arap Moi, who was in power during the Goldenberg affair.

Resignations

Mr Kibaki's former anti-corruption advisor John Githongo has accused him of doing nothing over the Anglo Leasing scam.


The media has made me the most vilified and hunted person in Kenya
Former Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi

The 20 figures linked by the police to Goldenberg have also had their firearms licences cancelled and been ordered to surrender their weapons.
As well as Mr Saitoti, they include Mr Moi's sons, Gideon and Philip, chief suspect Kamlesh Pattni and other MPs and officials.

Mr Saitoti has denied any wrongdoing.

A report on the Goldenberg affair was handed to Mr Kibaki last week.

Mr Kibaki has urged Kenyans to be patient while the investigations continue.

Inner circle

The resignation of Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi was announced on national television by President Mwai Kibaki at the same time as that of Mr Saitoti.

Mr Murungi had vowed to stay on last week after the BBC obtained a tape allegedly of him trying to persuade Mr Githongo to hold back on his investigations, while Mr Murungi was justice minister.


"I have not been involved in any corruption," he said on Tuesday, blaming his problems on political problems within the ruling Narc coalition.
"The media has made me the most vilified and hunted person in Kenya."

The BBC's Karen Allen in Nairobi says Mr Murungi is a key member of Mr Kibaki's inner circle. He vowed to return to the political stage.

The Anglo Leasing affair prompted a delegation of Kenyan MPs to fly to the UK, where Mr Githongo is in exile, to quiz him about his allegations.

Mr Githongo said he was "reassured" after meeting MPs over the weekend.

Never give up on your spouse.

Wait for this promise. "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and
detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a
new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone
and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees
and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will
be their God." ....Ezekiel 11:18-20

God bless,
Charlyne Steinkamp

"I know how to abound."-Philippians 4:12

There are many who know "how to be abased" who have not learned "how to
abound." When they are set upon the top of a pinnacle their heads grow
dizzy, and they are ready to fall. The Christian far oftener disgraces
his profession in prosperity than in adversity. It is a dangerous thing
to be prosperous. The crucible of adversity is a less severe trial to
the Christian than the fining-pot of prosperity. Oh, what leanness of
soul and neglect of spiritual things have been brought on through the
very mercies and bounties of God! Yet this is not a matter of necessity,
for the apostle tells us that he knew how to abound. When he had much he
knew how to use it. Abundant grace enabled him to bear abundant
prosperity. When he had a full sail he was loaded with much ballast, and so
floated safely. It needs more than human skill to carry the brimming cup
of mortal joy with a steady hand, yet Paul had learned that skill, for
he declares, "In all things I am instructed both to be full and!
to be hungry." It is a divine lesson to know how to be full, for the
Israelites were full once, but while the flesh was yet in their mouth,
the wrath of God came upon them. Many have asked for mercies that they
might satisfy their own hearts' lust. Fulness of bread has often made
fulness of blood, and that has brought on wantonness of spirit. When we
have much of God's providential mercies, it often happens that we have
but little of God's grace, and little gratitude for the bounties we have
received. We are full and we forget God: satisfied with earth, we are
content to do without heaven. Rest assured it is harder to know how to
be full than it is to know how to be hungry-so desperate is the tendency
of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of God. Take care that you
ask in your prayers that God would teach you "how to be full."


" Let not the gifts Thy love bestows
Estrange our hearts from Thee."

Evening

"I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a
cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee."-Isaiah 44:22

Attentively observe THE INSTRUCTIVE SIMILITUDE: our sins are like a
cloud. As clouds are of many shapes and shades, so are our transgressions.
As clouds obscure the light of the sun, and darken the landscape
beneath, so do our sins hide from us the light of Jehovah's face, and cause
us to sit in the shadow of death. They are earth-born things, and rise
from the miry places of our nature; and when so collected that their
measure is full, they threaten us with storm and tempest. Alas! that,
unlike clouds, our sins yield us no genial showers, but rather threaten to
deluge us with a fiery flood of destruction. O ye black clouds of sin,
how can it be fair weather with our souls while ye remain?
Let our joyful eye dwell upon THE NOTABLE ACT of divine mercy-"blotting
out." God Himself appears upon the scene, and in divine benignity,
instead of manifesting His anger, reveals His grace: He at once and for
ever effectually removes the mischief, not by blowing away the cloud, but
by blotting it out from existence once for all. Against the justified
man no sin remains, the great transaction of the cross has eternally
removed His transgressions from him. On Calvary's summit the great deed,
by which the sin of all the chosen was for ever put away, was completely
and effectually performed.
Practically let us obey THE GRACIOUS COMMAND, "return unto me."Why
should pardoned sinners live at a distance from their God? If we have been
forgiven all our sins, let no legal fear withhold us from the boldest
access to our Lord. Let backslidings be bemoaned, but let us not
persevere in them. To the greatest possible nearness of communion with the
Lord, let us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, strive mightily to return.
O Lord, this night restore us!

Nigeria confirms bird flu spread

The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found on three more farms in northern Nigeria, where thousands of poultry have died recently.
Officials said tests had confirmed bird flu on farms in two different states to where Africa's first case of bird flu was confirmed on Wednesday.

Chickens have been dying in Nigeria for a month, leading to fears that the virus may have spread widely.

The government says it has now imposed a quarantine on the affected farms.

Large-scale culls of poultry have also begun.


The World Health Organization has called for a massive public education campaign, to stop bird flu from spreading to humans in Nigeria.
"The single most important public health priority at this stage is to warn people about the dangers of close contact with sick or dead birds infected with H5N1," a WHO statement said.

Imports banned

Although Nigeria's government has said it will compensate farmers if their poultry are killed, people have been rushing to sell sick or dead chickens in the markets before restrictions are imposed.

Neighbouring Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana and Niger have all banned chicken imports from Nigeria.


HAVE YOUR SAY
To the Nigerian government, declare a state of emergency in Kaduna now for the sake of Mama Africa
Zacharias W Nyenawo, Liberia


The new cases - confirmed by National Veterinary Research Institute head Doctor Lamy Lombar - are in Kano State and Plateau State, on either side of Kaduna, where the first case was found.
Samples have now been sent abroad for further analysis.

Agriculture Minister Adamu Bello met diplomats and UN agencies to appeal for help to contain the outbreak, reports the AFP news agency.

"We told them that we need facilities such as laboratories, vaccines and technical support," he said.

The remaining poultry on the first farm - some 300 ostriches - were shot on Thursday night in a bid to contain the outbreak.

Auwalu Haruna, head of the Kano Poultry Farmers' Association, has accused the authorities of being slow to react to the suspicious deaths of chickens - giving the virus time to spread.

"We have 30 farms that have been affected, and we're still counting... Just yesterday, 40,000 chickens died at Phed Farm alone."


It is not clear how the virus has spread to Nigeria. It was first found in South-East Asia and more recently Turkey and Russia.
Some experts blame illegal poultry imports; others migrating birds.

More than 80 people have died of H5N1 bird flu since the disease's resurgence in December 2003 - most of them in South-East Asia.

Experts point out that cross-infection to humans is still relatively rare, and usually occurs where people have been in close contact with infected birds.

But they say if the H5N1 strain mutates so it can be passed between humans, it could become a global pandemic, killing millions.

HALLELUJAH!!! Pastor Ifeanyi Adefarasin has delivered a bouncing baby boy!

We join the angels in heaven to rejoice for the lives of Pastors Paul & Ifeanyi Adefarasin as they are blessed with a bouncing baby boy. Thank you Jesus.

We also celebrate, with gratitude to God, with the families of Pastors Yinka & Tolu Akinbami and Pastors Yemi & Amanda Amusan as they clock 20 & 5 years, respectively, of blessed married lives.

May God further bless these leaders of the HOUSE-ON-THE-ROCK local assembly family throughout 2006 and all the years to come, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

SAHLOM!!!

"At that time Jesus answered."-Matthew 11:25

This is a singular way in which to commence a verse-"At that time Jesus
answered." If you will look at the context you will not perceive that
any person had asked Him a question, or that He was in conversation with
any human being. Yet it is written, "Jesus answered and said, I thank
Thee, O Father." When a man answers, he answers a person who has been
speaking to him. Who, then, had spoken to Christ? His Father. Yet there
is no record of it; and this should teach us that Jesus had constant
fellowship with His Father, and that God spake into His heart so often, so
continually, that it was not a circumstance singular enough to be
recorded. It was the habit and life of Jesus to talk with God. Even as Jesus
was, is this world, so are we; let us therefore learn the lesson which
this simple statement concerning Him teaches us. May we likewise have
silent fellowship with the Father, so that often we may answer Him, and
though the world wotteth not to whom we speak, may we be respo!
nding to that secret voice unheard of any other ear, which our own ear,
opened by the Spirit of God, recognizes with joy. God has spoken to us,
let us speak to God-either to set our seal that God is true and
faithful to His promise, or to confess the sin of which the Spirit of God has
convinced us, or to acknowledge the mercy which God's providence has
given, or to express assent to the great truths which God the Holy Ghost
has opened to our understanding. What a privilege is intimate communion
with the Father of our spirits! It is a secret hidden from the world, a
joy with which even the nearest friend intermeddleth not. If we would
hear the whispers of God's love, our ear must be purged and fitted to
listen to His voice. This very evening may our hearts be in such a state,
that when God speaks to us, we, like Jesus, may be prepared at once to
answer Him.


SHALOM!!!

WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF FORGIVENESS -

"But he who hates his brother is in darkness and does not know
where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
1 John 1:11

This scripture certainly applies to a couple facing separation or
divorce. When someone has become so hardened in his heart towards
his spouse that he decides to walk away and end the relationship, he
is "hating" his brother or sister in Christ. The word "hate" here,
means to detest or despise. To despise simply means to think less
of. To leave one's family, one is definitely thinking less of them
than oneself. Obviously, that person is walking in darkness and
can't even see where they are going. That explains all the
irrational and sometimes crazy behaviors you may have seen in your
wayward spouses. They don't know what they are doing, because they
cannot see through the darkness in their lives. Unforgiveness is
what hardens hearts and causes them to stumble and make mistakes.
Choosing not to forgive means one is walking in darkness.

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love
the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no
murderer has eternal life abiding in him." 1 John 3:14-15

This is strong! If you don't love, you are living in death or
corruption. If you hate (think less of) your brother (or sister),
you are a murderer and do not have eternal life in you! Wow. I
think God is trying to show us how vitally important it is to
love.

Refusing to release someone when they have sinned against you is not
walking in the love of God. If you continue to hold onto
unforgiveness, you will begin to stumble and the result will be
death of relationships, emotions, and eventually even physical
death. If you are reading this devotional, then you have already
begun to see these results in your own marriage. Examine your heart
to make sure you have forgiven and continue to forgive your spouse.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any unforgiveness you may have in
your heart towards your spouse (or anyone else for that matter) and
then repent of it. Choose to forgive. To stand for your marriage,
your heart must be right and you must be able to see clearly.
Perhaps you have already done this...great! Keep doing it, because
people will always fail you and there is always an opportunity to
practice this. Perhaps your spouse is the one who is holding
unforgiveness in their heart and so they have been blinded. Ask the
Holy Spirit to reveal these scriptures to them and ask the Lord to
pour forgiveness into their hearts toward you. Pray that God will
show them that walking in the light means walking in the love of
God. Pray 1 John 4:16 over your spouse daily; "...may they know and
believe the love that you, Oh Lord, have for them...may they know
and experience your love and abide in you and you in them."

As they begin to truly experience the love that our Father has for
them, they will be set free from the darkness that has bound them!

Be encouraged,!
Amy, (And having done all to stand, still standing in Texas.)

Morning

"Praying always."-Ephesians 6:18

What multitudes of prayers we have put up from the first moment when we
learned to pray. Our first prayer was a prayer for ourselves; we asked
that God would have mercy upon us, and blot out our sin. He heard us.
But when He had blotted out our sins like a cloud, then we had more
prayers for ourselves. We have had to pray for sanctifying grace, for
constraining and restraining grace; we have been led to crave for a fresh
assurance of faith, for the comfortable application of the promise, for
deliverance in the hour of temptation, for help in the time of duty, and
for succour in the day of trial. We have been compelled to go to God
for our souls, as constant beggars asking for everything. Bear witness,
children of God, you have never been able to get anything for your souls
elsewhere. All the bread your soul has eaten has come down from heaven,
and all the water of which it has drank has flowed from the living
rock-Christ Jesus the Lord. Your soul has never grown rich in itse!
lf; it has always been a pensioner upon the daily bounty of God; and
hence your prayers have ascended to heaven for a range of spiritual
mercies all but infinite. Your wants were innumerable, and therefore the
supplies have been infinitely great, and your prayers have been as varied
as the mercies have been countless. Then have you not cause to say, "I
love the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my supplication"? For
as your prayers have been many, so also have been God's answers to
them. He has heard you in the day of trouble, has strengthened you, and
helped you, even when you dishonoured Him by trembling and doubting at the
mercy-seat. Remember this, and let it fill your heart with gratitude to
God, who has thus graciously heard your poor weak prayers. "Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

Evening

"Pray one for another."-James 5:16

As an encouragement cheerfully to offer intercessory prayer, remember
that such prayer is the sweetest God ever hears, for the prayer of
Christ is of this character. In all the incense which our Great High Priest
now puts into the golden censer, there is not a single grain for
Himself. His intercession must be the most acceptable of all
supplications-and the more like our prayer is to Christ's, the sweeter it will be; thus
while petitions for ourselves will be accepted, our pleadings for
others, having in them more of the fruits of the Spirit, more love, more
faith, more brotherly kindness, will be, through the precious merits of
Jesus, the sweetest oblation that we can offer to God, the very fat of
our sacrifice. Remember, again, that intercessory prayer is exceedingly
prevalent. What wonders it has wrought! The Word of God teems with its
marvellous deeds. Believer, thou hast a mighty engine in thy hand, use
it well, use it constantly, use it with faith, and thou shalt sure!
ly be a benefactor to thy brethren. When thou hast the King's ear,
speak to Him for the suffering members of His body. When thou art favoured
to draw very near to His throne, and the King saith to thee, "Ask, and
I will give thee what thou wilt," let thy petitions be, not for thyself
alone, but for the many who need His aid. If thou hast grace at all,
and art not an intercessor, that grace must be small as a grain of
mustard seed. Thou hast just enough grace to float thy soul clear from the
quicksand, but thou hast no deep floods of grace, or else thou wouldst
carry in thy joyous bark a weighty cargo of the wants of others, and thou
wouldst bring back from thy Lord, for them, rich blessings which but
for thee they might not have obtained:-

"Oh, let my hands forget their skill,
My tongue be silent, cold, and still,
This bounding heart forget to beat,
If I forget the mercy-seat!"

SHALOM!!!

Shell's new Nigerian field on tap

Anglo-Dutch giant Shell says it has begun pumping oil from a huge new field off the Nigerian coast, boosting the country's total production by 10%.
Production had begun at the Bonga deepwater oil and gas field, and will produce 225,000 barrels per day.

However, delays and cost overruns mean the development cost $3.6bn (£2.1bn), up from original estimates of $2.7bn.

Shell's partners in Bonga include France's Total, US major ExxonMobil and Italy's Eni.

Output target

Nigeria is already Africa's biggest oil exporter and produces more than 2.5 million barrels per day.

The government hopes to increase production to four million barrels per day by 2010.

The new 60 sq-km field is situated 120 km offshore, in water depths of more than 1,000 metres.

"The target is to attain the current nameplate production of 225,000 barrels of oil and 150 million cubic feet of gas per day as soon as possible," Shell said in a statement.

Shell, the world's third-largest listed oil firm by market value, has stumbled financially in bringing some other large projects to fruition.

The budget for its Sakhalin 2 project off Russia's east coast was doubled to $20bn this summer, and some experts believe it could still cost more.

US pushes Darfur UN peace force

The United States is backing the UN to take over the peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region.
Top US diplomat Robert Zoelleck said he hoped the UN Security Council would approve the size and nature of the mission by the end of February.

Last month, Sudan said money spent on a UN force would be better used helping the current African Union one.

Mr Zoellick said 7,000 AU troops already in the war-torn region could become the core of the UN force.

Some 2m people have fled their homes in Darfur amid fighting between rebel groups and pro-government Janjaweed militias.

'Short month'

The New York based organisation Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group in Brussels have also called for UN-backed peacekeepers to be deployed swiftly in Darfur.


They say militia are continuing to operate with impunity in the region.
It is thought that a UN force would be better equipped and have a tougher mandate.

Mr Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State, said on Wednesday the US would use its month-long presidency of the Security Council to push through the proposals, Reuters news agency reports.

"February is a short month, as you know, so we're trying to push forward on this," he said.

On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the AU had signalled that it wanted its troops to be part of a UN peacekeeping operation.

Meanwhile, AU-chaired peace talks in Nigeria have been marred by violence between the rebels, after some delegates were attacked when they defected from one faction to another.

Kenyan 'graft' minister resigns

Kenyan Finance Minister David Mwiraria has resigned after being linked to a corruption scandal that has shaken the Kenyan government.
The multimillion dollar "Anglo Leasing" corruption scam involved contracts for a company that existed in name only.

Mr Mwiraria, who is one of President Mwai Kibaki's key allies, has said the allegations against him are false.

The former anti-corruption tsar who made the allegations says he will testify before Kenyan investigators.

President Kibaki has come under pressure from donors to live up to his 2002 poll pledge to curb corruption.

'Disturbing'

Mr Mwiraria said he was stepping aside in order to clear his name, after he was mentioned in a report by the government's former anti-corruption chief John Githongo.


My conscience is clear that I have served the Kenyan people with dedication and honesty
Finance Minister David Mwiraria

The 31 page report, leaked just over a week ago, alleges that he and three other top ministers blocked investigations into the Anglo Leasing scandal.

"The allegations made against me... cast serious aspersions on my character and integrity, have greatly disturbed me," said Mr Mwiraria, reading his resignation letter live on Kenya television.

Mr Githongo resigned a year ago, amid reports that his life had been threatened because of his corruption work.

He accuses the ministers of having links to a huge contract given to a non-existent company, Anglo Leasing, to print new high-technology passports, and build navy ships and forensic laboratories.

In a copy of the report obtained by the BBC, Mr Mwiraria, it is alleged, told Mr Githongo that it was felt he should "go easy" with his investigations into the affair.

Later it emerged that Mr Mwiraria allegedly knew that a well-known Kenyan businessman, whose involvement in previous government deals has raised serious questions, was also linked to Anglo Leasing.

Aid cut

The BBC's Karen Allen in Nairobi says Mr Mwiraria's is the first-high profile resignation.


The other ministers mentioned in the report were Vice-President Moody Awori, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi and sacked Transport Minister Chris Murungaru.

Mr Murungi and Mr Awori have also publicly denied the claims.

Civil rights groups, church leaders and lawyers had urged Mr Kibaki to suspend the ministers until investigations are carried out.

Mr Mwiraria requested that investigations were made into the Anglo Leasing affair "so that the truth and the facts of the matter can be established".

"As I step aside, my conscience is clear that I have served the Kenyan people with dedication and honesty, and have not been party to any irregularity, criminal or unethical conduct," he said.


Mr Githongo has agreed to testify before parliament's public accounts committee and also co-operate with Kenya's anti-corruption commission.

And in response to Mr Mwiraria's resignation, Mr Githongo said that he stood by his report, which he alleges, proves Mr Mwiraria was a key player in the Anglo Leasing scandal.

International donors have urged Kenya's president to take tough action against any cabinet ministers found to be corrupt.

The World Bank has delayed the release of $260m in loans to the country because of corruption allegations.

In his report, Mr Githongo said President Kibaki had known about the Anglo Leasing scam but had done nothing to stop it.

Crackdown on mass-marketing scams

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched a campaign to warn about the dangers of mass-marketing scams.
It says they are a serious and growing problem, partly due to the wide-spread popularity of the internet.

The OFT estimates that scams such as bogus competitions, lotteries, clairvoyants and pyramid schemes cost UK consumers at least £1bn a year.

"Scams steal money from the legitimate economy"," said OFT chief executive John Fingleton.

"They are scheming, crafty, aggressive and malicious, and five million people in the UK have been victims," he said.

New scams

The number of scams being operated by criminals is proliferating.

Among recent ones have been offers to sell the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to combat bird flu, a bogus charity asking for money to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the USA, and bogus parcel delivery services that demand money before someone can collect their parcel.

Mr Fingleton emphasised the extent to which the internet had made things easier for fraudsters: "It is a new means of reaching consumers with age-old scams.

"A million e-mail addresses can be bought for five dollars and that is a lot cheaper than sending a mail-shot to a million people" he said.

High profile campaign

The one-month long campaign will run throughout February and focus on warning the public about mass-marketing schemes.


TOP SCAMS
Competitions
Lotteries
Psychics
Clairvoyants
Phishing
Advance fee frauds
Pyramid schemes
Working from home schemes
General investment

Its main aim will be to give consumers knowledge that will enable them to spot scams and to encourage people to report them to the authorities.

"Scams would be much less profitable if people were more sceptical," said a senior OFT enforcement official.

The campaign will feature leaflets on how to spot a scam, alongside radio advertising and adverts on the internet.

It follows a similar campaign last year, which saw the OFT receive hundreds of letters from members of the public who had been conned by scammers.

International action

Educating the public is just one part of the OFT's efforts.


scams would be much less profitable if people were more sceptical
Mike Haley, OFT

The OFT will also carry out a sweep of the internet internationally to identify, as part of this campaign, bogus home working scams.

This will involve the co-operation of internet service providers, who will be asked to take scammers offline as well as to identify foreign spam gangs to see where they are operating from.

But Mike Haley says it is a myth that all such scams originate with criminals abroad.

Some are in fact very home grown.

"Some of the investigations we have started recently pointed to the fact that these organised gangs can be students who have learned from somebody else and could be at university."

The government is currently consulting on how to implement a European Union directive on unfair commercial practices.

Among other things, this will automatically define pyramid selling schemes as unfair in all circumstances, relieving the authorities of having to prove that each one is misleading.

Also, the government will give an extra £3m to local authority trading standards offices to set up dedicated scam busting teams.

The OFT's Consumer Direct telephone helpline will be extended to all areas of the UK so that people can ring it for advice if they suspect they are being targeted by a scam.