OK, so you're savvy and smart and have steered clear of many consumer frauds that cost Americans billions of dollars a year. But you might not be aware of some new twists that crooks use to snare suspecting consumers.

For example, telephone-number "spoofing" technology, accessible through companies on the Internet, subverts a trusted consumer safeguard, caller ID, to make you believe a scammer is actually your bank or a government agency.

That was just one of the tricks we found when we trolled through the files of dozens of government agencies, industry associations, and consumer groups that track crooked schemes. Another consumer fraud: A caller with insider investment advice who has mistakenly dialed a "wrong number"--yours.

Con artists even buy mail listings of names and contact information of people whom market-research companies have determined are gullible or desperate to get rich quick because of illness.

The pitches on these pages include the most pervasive consumer fraud scams, though we discovered cons for almost every money-related endeavor, including investing, credit, automobiles, and health care. There's even a scam for cheating people who have already been victimized: So-called recovery-room operators buy lists of people who lost money in worthless investment schemes, then call to "help" recover their losses--for up-front fees.

Why do so many get taken for a ride? Because anyone with pride, desires, needs, or just no time to do their homework is a potential pickup. To fight back: