At York Citizens Advice Bureau, we sometimes have inquiries from our clients about offers that sound too good to be true. They are!

People rarely give away large sums of money or expensive gifts to strangers without intending to get something back. Usually, these offers and rewards are really scams and the best place for them is 'file 13', the waste paper bin.

How do you recognise a dodgy deal? The hallmarks include a requirement of sworn secrecy or handwritten congratulations.

It's not only York people who receive them. We hear stories from all over the country about services that could be free, but a company offers the same service for a small fee.

A woman had an offer via the internet to stop nuisance calls for an £11 charge. BT will do this free.

Bogus holiday offers appear from time to time.

An elderly couple signed up to a holiday club scheme. They would have five free annual holidays, but they had to pay nearly £5,000 and could only reclaim this at the end of the five years. Meanwhile, administration fees were charged yearly.

As for the holiday destination, they were told they were too old for their first choice, and the second choice would have cost more in air fares than the total cost of a package holiday. That doesn't sound like a free offer.

The personalised letter is one approach to trap people. Other traps include trying to force a quick decision by improving the offer for a return of post reply.

We're always on the lookout for these people and there's often a new twist. The CAB is open every day. Come and talk to us before you agree to a deal that costs you more than it gives you.