A stranger comes up to you in the street and says: "I am going to give you an award of atleast £50 but it could be as much as £25,000. Guaranteed".

What's your reaction? You probably decide the stranger is bonkers or else there's a catch to it.

Why then, do people fall for a letter through the post that promises a guaranteed "award" of between £50 and £25,000?

I don't suppose I'm the only one to receive this letter, sent by something called The Winners Club. All I have to do, they say, is phone the number "printed below" and obtain my "six digit personal claim code".

I then have to give all my personal details...and so on. What isn't so obvious is the cost of the phone call. At the bottom of the page in very small print is the cost....£1.50 per minute to a maximum of 4 minutes 59 seconds. In other words, £7.50. Wow! Easy money!

I also note that "we reserve the right to terminate all or part of the promotion at any time without notice" and although you are invited to send "queries regarding entries" they also say "no correspondence will be entered into". Needless to say, my "Official Notice of Award" is going into the bin. Now!

There's a lot of anti-cat feeling about. I've read some articles calling cats nuisances because they dig up gardens and "murderers" because they kill birds. Personally, none of my cats has ever dug up my garden (they don't bury bones like dogs do) and as for killing birds, what about all the humans who shoot birds in cold blood for sport?