ALBUQUERQUE -- In a possible sign of lawsuits to come, New Mexico Attorney General Gary King yesterday laid out a list of the most common "scams" reported to his offices over the past month.

In common with other states, online rip-offs like false lottery-winning notifications, bogus job offers and "fishing" for personal financial information were commonly reported. Telephone notifications of false "winnings" in sweepstakes and such, to be released only after the contact makes a payment, were also common.

Such scams have been regular targets of a number of state attorneys-general over the past 12 months. As well as New Mexico, the attorneys-general of Washington, Iowa and New Jersey have all recently warned their consumers about bogus winning notifications.

One "scam" that seems relatively unique to New Mexico is what King calls the "land-sale scam." He claims Florida-based United States Property Services and Vacation/Preferred Property Services had been contacting owners of vacant land in New Mexico with promises of an impending buyer offering a price above the land's value.

King charges the company then solicits what the owner thinks is a fee ($300-$800) to secure the transaction. In fact, he claims, it is a non-refundable "advertising fee" the owner pays to have the property posted on a website.

One New Mexico consumer also reported that she had lost $45,000 after depositing a check of that amount that arrived unsolicited with a request to hold it for an unnamed Chinese "investor." After wiring the proceeds to China the check bounced and her bank charged the accounts of both her and her husband.