Martin Lewis: Scams can happen to anyone! I nearly got caught by one yesterday

He said to cancel the iPhone order, he'd sent me a six-digit code to reply to. I was feeling rushed and pressured, as the team needed to record and I wasn't concentrating, but finally enough of my brain turned onto the call and alarm bells started.

I said I wanted to first check that this call was legit, especially when I started to realise it was a WhatsApp call. He got pushy and said if I didn't send the code he wouldn't stop the iPhone being sent. This felt wrong to me... Why would he want to risk sending a high value item if the customer says it wasn't ordered?

So, while talking and prepping the podcast, I managed to use a search engine to check the telephone number and yes, it was a recognised 'Amazon scam number'. (I always like two sources and there were two clear ones on this.)

Clearly, had I replied with the code he'd sent, he would have then asked for further details and that would've started the data mine – with him likely eventually getting details good enough to hack into an Amazon account and spend.

Of course, by answering (not something I normally do to unknown numbers, but did by reflex) I did inadvertently confirm that my number is not just a real number, but an active one used by a human being. I'll have to cope with that – it will probably mean more scam calls in future.

The real lesson here for me is how plausible it was, and how clearly rehearsed they are with answers to the obvious rejections. And even though I'm obviously hyper-alert to scams as my face is in half of them, catch someone at the wrong time, when they're not paying attention, and anyone can be caught out!

I wanted to write this, not just to warn about the scam and to remind about the terrible lack of protections out there for the vulnerable and not vulnerable, but also because I get a huge number of messages from scam victims – many of whom feel distraught or worse.

So let me say plainly, if it has happened or nearly happened to you, that it can happen to anyone. No one is above this, and it's the criminals who do it who are the ones to blame, not you.

Related MoneySavingExpert.com guides:

• Help protect yourself against scams with our 20 ways to stop scams guide.

• Lost money to a scam or handed over details to someone you suspect is a scammer? Head to our Help, I've been scammed! guide instead.