We have the latest figures on the scale of ID theft in the US and news of a sneaky trick using parking tickets to try to steal people's personal details. Phony jobs are also back on the scene, again as a route to getting hold of private information.

Among our real estate stories, we have a report of a scam that used forged home ownership documents to prey on victims and a worthless circular that supposedly details a free land giveaway.

In addition, there's a new tax refund trick about, a letter that tries to get parents to pay a fee for a student aid application, and the embarrassing story of how one state handed over $2.5m to scammers.

We also have the lowdown on two new phishing tricks, an explanation of a scam that goes by the name of "dugo-dugo", a warning about bogus fire inspections, and a distressing tale of church pastors who learned the hard way that nothing is really free.

And we round off with an amusing hoax story -- not really a malicious scam, but certainly an interesting test of people's gullibility.

But we do so because it's clear people are still falling for this evil trick and we want to do all we can to help put a stop to it and prevent more misery.

We also have news of a couple of very widespread scams -- low level credit card charges and a piece of malware believed to have infected more than 3 million computers.

There's a new type of ID theft attack targeting seniors, a malware warning for BlackBerry users and a report of a clever business scam in which a conman convinced firms to buy rubbish metal from him.

Then there's our sting-in-the-tail -- literally. It's the story of the lobster and the crab.

That's the subject of our lead-off story in this first Scamlines issue of 2009. And it make for heartening news.

Sadly, that's where the good news ends. As we already predicted several times, scammers are using the downturn in the economy to trick people into giving away their financial details or paying for non-existent or unnecessary services.

We also have word of a new lottery scam in Australia, phony monks in Cambodia, and a bogus pay-off for Nigerian scam victims.

Plus, there's the mystery of the Massachusetts hoaxer who wants to make drivers see red. Let's begin...

It's the talk of Wall Street and investment centers worldwide, with losses said to be around $50 billion. We bring you the story in this latest round up of the scam headlines.

We've also picked up on several new phishing and ID theft cons currently in play, a warning on fake Nintendo game consoles, and news of bogus utility workers hoping to cash in on the cold weather.

Then there's the story of the supposed passed-out poisonous business card that's supposed to make you pass out.

The trick is to mislead by implying one thing but then to put the truth in the small print.

But most deceptions are just barefaced fraud and lies, though they usually come dressed up with plausible lines -- like the ID thief who sweet-talked his victims with flowers and wine or the tale of the "Great Gas Giveaway" reported below.

These and yet another costly Nigerian overpayment con and two seasonal holiday scams, are among the tricks to be on the lookout for -- wherever you are -- reported in our latest roundup of the scam headlines.

The villains will stop at nothing and just keep asking for more and more money, as the first two stories in our round-up of the latest scam headlines show.

We also have the lowdown on a cheap drugs scam that delivers a double blow to victims and new outbreaks of familiar frauds -- the economic stimulus check and the auto warranty tricks.

And if you've received a tempting offer of cut-price tickets for January's Presidential inaugural bash, we've got news for you -- they're free. If you can get them.

We also show how scammers use the names of official organizations and legitimate firms to fool people into downloading malware or part with confidential information.

Plus, we've news of a bogus flight-booking email, a scam that hits fast food company Wendy's and the strange story of the winners who turn down their prizes.

But the bad news: In separate studies, researchers show how easy it is to turn a computer into a "zombie" and how feasible it is to capture key strokes using simple electronic eavesdropping equipment.

Also in this week's round-up of the scam headlines, we warn of a conman who travels the US telling tall stories, a highly organized checks scam and a phishing expedition that hauled in a super-catch.

For evidence, in this week's roundup of the scam headlines we take the lid off the global scale of so-called grandparent scams, and we show how crooks are also using the current banking crisis as a lever for crime.

We also have reports of a phony Microsoft security update, a new prize-winning trick linked to "miracle cure" pills and a bogus credit con using doctored gift cards.

And then there's the bogus book-seller who tried to scam a police chief's wife.

But there's more scary stuff from the living too. We report on two recent home rental scams, including a couple of incidents where owners return from vacation to find renters have moved in!

We also have news of an attack on 10,000 users of a social networking service, a new trick for bilking car renters -- and a $236m judgment against spammers.

Plus, we've the story of the Florida snake-charmers who spray their "snowbird" victims then rob them.

We also bring you news of a new version of a scam known as "clickjacking", which all web browsers are vulnerable to, plus a "clever" scam for getting someone else to pay for cell phone credits.

And then there's the real dirty distraction trick which robbed a customer of $10,000 -- while he was in the bank!

We have more details in this week's roundup of the scam headlines. Plus, talking of floods, we're sorry but not surprised to discover that the Hurricane Ike scams we recently warned about are already adding to the misery of storm victims in a big way.

Also in this week's Scamlines, we report on new laws to hit back at identity thieves, a sneaky camera trick to capture PIN numbers and, staying with the camera theme, a conspiracy in Italy that leads to thousands of motorists being photographed driving through stop lights.

And how about being tricked into paying for someone else's soda? We've got that covered too.