The US government has announced a crackdown on dodgy use of the internet.

Psychics, work-at-home schemes, auction fraud, deceptive use of junk email, securities fraud and other schemes are to be targeted in an internet law-enforcement effort.

According to a spokeswoman for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), several cases have been settled already, with punishments ranging from seven-year jail sentences to agreements by defendants to stop their schemes.

"Scams on the internet spread very quickly," said J. Howard Beales, III, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "That's why the FTC and our partners are moving aggressively to shut these schemes down."

The FTC said the mid-west of the US seemed to be the worst place for internet fraud scams,with the perpetrators targeting victims nationwide through junk email solicitations or auction fraud.

In one case, a company cheated thousands of people out of more than $2m in two years by telling consumers they could earn up to $2,000 per week stuffing envelopes at home after paying an initial $45 deposit, but then failed to send the promised envelope-stuffing materials.