I honestly thought I was too savvy to be scammed. I’ve had emails from thieves in Nigeria asking for my bank account details so they could send me the millions of pounds I’d won on what was clearly a fictional lottery. I knew neither of my sons was lost abroad somewhere without money, so didn’t fall for that one.

And when I’ve received demands for payment from, say, Microsoft, I’ve always found a number to ring to check it’s genuine. It’s surprising how often it is an attempted scam.

Nevertheless, I had a text and a call purporting to be from my bank last month which showed me how vulnerable even the most careful of us can be.

I was told the call came from my bank’s fraud department and I was asked if I recognised a transaction on my credit card of .00 GBP to Google. It said ‘*Temporary Hold unknown 17.11.2024 06.46.23 APPROVED’.

Of course I didn’t recognise it, as I told the bank. They informed me they suspected it was an example of a new kind of scam. They would block my card and send me a new one as soon as possible.

This was most inconvenient. I was about to set off for my cruise to the Canary Islands and there was no way they could get a new credit card to me before I left.

They told me not to worry as I’d be able to use my debit card instead. I thought no more about it, grateful my bank’s fraud department appeared to be doing their best to protect me.

On the ship there was a small group of speakers including the financial whizz, Paul Lewis, familiar to most from Radio 4’s Moneybox. I’ve known him for years. He’s often scared me to death pointing out some failure of mine to be clever enough with my money.

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I had a text and a call purporting to be from my bank last month which showed me how vulnerable even the most careful of us can be, writes JENNI MURRAY

We speakers got together one night for dinner and I began to tell my story about the attempted scam and how delighted I was with the care that was taken by my bank.

‘Hold on, Jenni,’ said Paul ominously. ‘Are you sure it was your bank that called you?’

I paled in shock and fear. Was I sure it was my bank that called me? Not really. I’d just assumed.

‘Right,’ said Paul. ‘Do you still have the credit card with you?’ I did, even though it was blocked and useless to me. ‘There’s a number on the back,’ said Paul. ‘Call it immediately and check it was your bank that contacted you.’

I called and to my huge relief I had been rung by my bank and the whole business was absolutely genuine. I was not going to lose money, but I should have known better.

Paul, as always, was absolutely right. Never assume a call that claims to be from your bank is real. Always check.

Now is apparently one of the most dangerous periods to become victims of the scammers. Earlier this week, Santander warned that the period between Christmas Day and January 1 is a busy time for crooks, who obviously don’t take the holiday period off.

Last year nearly £2 million was lost in transfer scams by Santander’s customers over the festive period. The biggest loss was a shocking £600,000 as part of an investment swindle.

Scam artists know we’re relaxed at this time of year and may be looking for bargains in the Christmas or New Year sales. Last year there were fake clothing deals on Instagram, and fake Taylor Swift tickets on Facebook marketplace.

I’ve often teased my husband about his extreme caution when it comes to putting our money at risk on the internet. He refuses to use online banking. It’s not safe, he says.

He’s lucky our house on the south coast isn’t far from one of the few surviving branches of our bank, where you can actually go in and talk to someone. Where I am in London that’s become increasingly impossible, so I rely on my banking app. But I’m beginning to think he may be right.

He’s an electronic engineer and understands technology far more than most of us do. He would never allow his bank cards to be visible on the wallet in his phone. I’ve taken his advice on that one.

It’s sad to feel you can’t really trust anybody these days, but money is hard earned and we need to protect ourselves.

I shan’t be letting my caution slip over the New Year. I’ll buy nothing online without checking it’s real and I’ll never take a call from my bank and believe it, without calling back to make sure it’s them.

We all need to unite and make the scammers’ lives a misery, not ours.

Year ends with sparkles for Gio

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The Italian Strictly trophy puts our modest glitter ball to shame

So pleased for Giovanni Pernice who’s won the Italian version of Strictly, Ballando Con Le Stelle, putting all the unpleasantness he suffered with Amanda Abbington and her bullying allegations behind him. He’s fallen for his partner, actress Bianca Guaccero, and plans to propose.

And look at the size of that trophy. It puts our modest glitter ball to shame.

Would you dare cook lunch for Delia?

How nerve-racking must it have been for the nephew of the great Delia Smith!

My Christmas lunch, cooked by my son and my son-in-law caused no anxiety for them as they knew they were far better at the job than I would have been.

But how nerve-racking must it have been for the nephew of the great Delia Smith, now 83. She said she was excited not to be cooking for the festivities for the first time in 52 years, but also admitted that it’s hard to watch someone not doing it properly.

Bet that nephew and his wife were terrified.

Hands up if you want a WFH teacher

Can the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, really be serious about letting teachers work from home? Apparently it’s to make the job more appealing to the next generation.

But presumably if you want to be a teacher, you like helping children learn. Teachers should be in school as long as their pupils are there. It’s the only way they get to know them.

My mum always got a full report on my work and character because my teachers knew me inside out.

‘Jennifer must learn she does not have the right to slide down the school bannisters. She must learn the rules and obey them.’ I got away with nothing.