A large junk mail scam could be shut down in weeks after the Office of Fair Trading decided to take a junk mail firm based in the Netherlands to court.

The Sunday Mirror today reports that the Office of Fair Trading is taking Dutch junk firm Best Sales to court to stop a lottery scam.

The con tells victims that they have won up to £12,000 in a foreign sweepstake, but that they must buy mail order goods worth at least £20 to get their prize. According to the paper, tens of thousands of people have been duped into buying household items they don't need. Most of the victims are elderly people.

Scammers often work from abroad, making it difficult for the Office of Fair Trading to stop scams. However, scams are one of the organisation's priorities. In 2005 the Office of Fair Trading launched a Scambusters team and set up a Scams Enforcement Group focusing, among others, on law enforcement. Earlier this week the Office of Fair Trading launched Scams Awareness Month to raise awareness of mass marketed scams.

An Office of Fair Trading spokesman said: "It's a landmark case and sends a clear message to similar scams based abroad." A judgment is expected on 27 February 2008.