While investigating a fraudulent site last week, we came across SCAMwatch, an excellent site created by the Australian government to protect consumers down under from fraud.

Like the Federal Trade Commission's OnGuard Online, SCAMwatch was designed to consumers and small businesspeople recognize, report and protect themselves from scams, although for our money, it's more consumer-friendly.

The site features sections on lottery scams, Nigerian 419 scams, identity theft, investment scams, small business scams and all manner of Internet scams. One page, Scams Target You, features four compelling stories of actual victims who lost money, their identities, life savings and even their homes.

SCAMwatch is owned and maintained by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and also serves as the campaign portal for the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce. So why should you care about an Australian site? Because national borders are meaningless to online scam artists, who operate everywhere and target everyone. Visit SCAMwatch.