Beware scammers collecting 'donations' for Martin's financial education textbooks

The Your Money Matters textbook – 100 copies of which were sent to each state-funded secondary school in England last month – was in fact paid for by a £325,000 donation from MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis. See our First-ever financial education textbook lands in schools MSE News story to find out more, including how to get it for free.

While details of the alleged fraud are still sketchy, Martin is urgently warning people to be aware of the possible new scam.

The charity behind the book, Young Money, received a letter from someone in the north west of England a few days ago warning their elderly father had been called by scammers claiming to be collecting donations for the 'Young Money textbooks initiative', and had handed over around £900.

Young Money hasn't yet been able to investigate the claim, but has reported the incident to the police. It's also added information to its website stressing that it would never ask individuals for donations towards the textbook and does not authorise any other organisations to do so either.

If you're contacted by anyone claiming to be collecting donations for the textbook, they aren't – IT'S A SCAM. Report the issue to  and .

Martin: 'Help spread the word to stop others losing £100s'

Martin said: "Please remember, neither I, nor anyone from MoneySavingExpert, nor anyone representing me, will ever knock on your door, write to you, or call you trying to sell you something or asking for cash. Anyone who claims to be doing so, which is sadly getting more common, is a liar and likely a scammer. Don't believe them.

"This upsetting incident has been reported, but please help spread the word to stop others potentially losing £100s."

What is the Your Money Matters textbook?

Your Money Matters, the first-ever curriculum-mapped financial education textbook, is aimed at students aged 15 to 16. It teaches them about topics such as savings, budgeting, borrowing, student loans and identity theft. It was written by the financial education charity Young Money with guidance from Martin.

Find out more information about the textbook in our First-ever financial education textbook lands in schools MSE News story.