The tiny southern French hamlet of Bugarach is at the mercy of scams from droves of visitors who believe it is the only place in the world that will survive a 2012 apocalypse.

A French government watchdog, which monitors sects, said the picturesque village should be monitored until December 21, 2012, when many believe the world will end, according to an ancient Mayan prophecy.

Magic mountain ... the Pic de Bugarach. Credit:AFP

Surrounded in legend for centuries, Bugarach and its rocky outcrop, the Pic de Bugarach, have attracted an influx of New Age visitors in recent months, pushing up property prices but also raising the threat of financial scams and psychological manipulation, the watchdog, known as Miviludes, said in a report published this week.

"I think we need to be careful. We shouldn't get paranoid, but when you see what happened at Waco in the United States, we know this kind of thinking can influence vulnerable people," the watchdog's president Georges Fenech said.