The internet is awash with spam sent by fraudsters; this much we all know. But what we don’t know is how the architects of the scams can make any money. Who is falling victim to the fraudsters? On a typical day, even a well-guarded inbox will be inundated with a couple of phishing e-mails purporting to be from a bank, various e-mails promising a route to sexual nirvana and several “hot stock tips”. These e-mails are making money for someone, obviously. But this implies that for every million spam e-mails sent, a significant proportion of recipients think: “Yes, I want some of that.”

As we report on pages 12-13, the new breed of “pump-and-dump” e-mails promises investors a quick profit on a small, illiquid share. About 100 million of these e-mails are sent every week. They are so transparently fraudulent that it’s astonishing that anyone responds. But they do. Why? The answer, primarily, is greed. Greed is not good, despite the protestations of Tom Wolfe’s capitalist anti-hero. The objections to greed are not rooted in some irrational loathing of the capitalism that underpins our health, happiness and political freedoms. On the contrary, greed is corrosive because it is the quickest and easiest way to become a victim in a vibrant capitalist economy. Any promise of quick and pain-free cash, whether made by a fraudster or a respected financial house, should ring alarm bells. If greed muffles the bells, prepare to lose out.

There is a difference between greed and a healthy appetite for more money to protect you and yours from the wolves at the door. The trick is finding the balance. Take your cue from the wealthy families who set up investment trusts to handle their fortunes. As we report on pages 18-19, some of these trusts are open to private investors. But don’t expect anything too racy. The trusts are designed to preserve wealth. There are no speculations or wild bets on the market, just a slow accumulation of more wealth.

So press delete on the scam e-mails and beware of the snake-oil merchants lurking in the financial markets. But if you want to be poorer, get greedier.

Funding is key to make financial education worthwhile

You can, of course, take caution too far when handling your finances. Take the Child Trust Fund (CTF). Gordon Brown has handed out free cash to a new generation of toddlers. They can’t get hold of the money until they are 18, but 22 per cent of eligible parents have put their £250 in a cash account, which is likely to keep pace with inflation but no more.

The £250 CTF voucher at birth and the further top up at age 7 will do little to ease the financial pressures on this generation. A cheque for the equivalent of £500 in tomorrow’s money will be a trifling amount compared with the student debt that many of them will face. At least an equity investment offers the possibility that the pot in the CTF may be worth something. In financial terms, the case for spending £250 million a year on CTFs is far from proven.

However, ignorance ranks alongside greed as a route to poverty in a complex economy. The Government’s argument that CTFs can be used as an educational tool is more compelling. Ed Balls, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, believes that a personal stake in the economy will make children excited about learning about money. He says: “It will be much more compelling and galvanising for the kids if they have these accounts.”

This at least is a convincing idea. Many children are instinctively interested in their own money. Potentially dry concepts such as compound interest, savings and stock markets should become more attractive if the teachers have a tool to relate theory to personal reality. But teachers need to be taught how to teach personal finance.

Personal finance education is to become an explicit part of the curriculum in 2008. The Financial Services Authority and the Personal Finances Education Group have taken the lead in preparing teachers to feel confident in teaching children about finance. Their efforts, though worthy, are piecemeal and hampered by a lack of resources. The Government intends to publish a ten-year strategy on financial capability this year. Ministers must ensure that a laudable idea to make us a better informed nation of savers does not collapse for lack of funds.

Make their day with sage advice about shopping around

Tomorrow is National Grandparents’ Day, apparently — a concept imported from America by Age Concern, the charity. Thankfully, however, it has yet to succumb to the hideous commercialism that surrounds Valentine’s, Mother’s and Father’s days.

Saga, the financial services group that targets older consumers, published research this week showing that 22 per cent of us are grandparents. The average age at which we become grandparents is 49. Saga says that Grandparents’ Day should be savoured.

I suspect that most of us simply want our grandparents to be healthy, and wealthy. Too many of the services targeted at the elderly let them down. As we report on page 10, we ran a range of insurance scenarios past underwriters and found that you cannot assume that you will receive the best deal from an organisation that purports to specialise. On price, two of the specialists that failed to deliver were Saga and Age Concern. You’re never too old to shop around for the best deal.

For more on consumer affairs visit www.timesonline.co.uk/consumeraffairs