Martin Lewis Narrowly Avoids Amazon Scam, Urges Public Vigilance

Consumer advocate and "Money Saving Expert" Martin Lewis has revealed he almost fell victim to an Amazon scam, despite years of warning the public about financial predators. The incident occurred while Lewis was distracted at work, receiving a WhatsApp call from someone impersonating an Amazon employee.

Lewis, 54, stated that the caller claimed his account had been compromised and that he had ordered a new iPhone. The scammer then pressed Lewis to share a six-digit code that had been sent to him, ostensibly to cancel the fraudulent order. "Brain elsewhere, man on phone asked had I ordered a new iPhone? as they had reports of suspected fraud," Lewis wrote online.

Alarm bells began to ring when the caller became pushy, insisting that the iPhone order would proceed if Lewis did not provide the code. Lewis found this tactic suspicious, questioning why a scammer would proceed with a high-value item if the customer denied making the purchase. He then verified the caller's number, discovering it was recognized as an Amazon scam number.

"Clearly, had I replied with the code he'd sent me he would have then asked for further details and that would've started the data mine," Lewis explained. He acknowledged that by answering the call, he inadvertently confirmed his number was active, a common tactic used by scammers to identify potential targets.

Lewis emphasized the sophistication and plausibility of the scam. "Even though I'm obviously hyper-alert to scams as my face is on half of them, catch someone at the wrong time, when they're not paying attention, and anyone can be caught out!" he warned.

Lewis founded MoneySavingExpert in 2003, a consumer finance website that has become one of the UK's largest. He hosts "The Martin Lewis Money Show" on ITV and frequently contributes to other programs, offering financial advice and raising awareness about various scams, including investment fraud, impersonation, phishing, and social media scams. He has also advocated for stronger regulations against scam advertising that misuses his name or image.