Your Book is a Scam-dunk Success Story

March Madness Hits the Literary World.

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If your email inbox isn’t getting a “Dear Author” email, just wait, it will. The scammers are working hard to have AI pull titles, authors, blurbs, and story content, as well as searching websites. Here are some hints to help authors avoid these mischievous money malefactors.

The easiest way to tell is to look at the email they ask you to respond to. If it is anything but a name tied to a dot com, be suspicious. 

Next, do your homework. Find and contact the parent company that the sender claims to work for and ask if the person is sending unsolicited emails based on the details in the message. Don’t call the phone number listed in the email. As a side note, you might find it interesting that companies like Netflix and HBO take this matter seriously. They often direct such emails to their legal department.

If the first two tests are verified, which they very rarely are, look up the person on social media, especially LinkedIn. Find a photo of the person and verify it on several different sites. Then ask for a face-to-face call, such as a Zoom or Microsoft Teams call. I don’t recommend a FaceTime call because you will be giving them your phone number. See if the person you speak to matches the photos you found. They usually make excuses why they can’t have the call.

Lastly, and I admit, I only do this when I’m feeling a bit vengeful: email the person and ask them a specific question about your book that they would only know if they read it. I actually go one step further and ask a trick question, for example: What did you think when Sam’s brother had him arrested? Truthfully, Sam didn’t have a brother. If they reply, it’s usually wrong. But most of the time this ends the emails.

In the end, the best thing to do is be very skeptical of unsolicited emails stating how wonderful you and your story are. If it’s too good to be true, well, you know the rest.  I hope this blog was helpful. Please let me know your thoughts by commenting.