In the digital world, creators are prime targets, and behind every great piece of art is a scammer trying to profit from it. I sell my books online, and my original intent was to give fellow writers tools to avoid these digital traps. However, I quickly realized that Brownsville is a hotbed of creativity; our many local artists and general online shoppers can also benefit from learning how to spot a fake.
A fantastic masterclass in these tactics is the site Writer Beware. While it focuses on the publishing industry, I suggest anyone in the creative space scour this site, as it is one of the best fraud-detection resources on the internet. Founded in 1998, Writer Beware tracks, exposes, and raises awareness of scams, fraud, and predatory practices. If you can, please contribute to keep their investigations going.
You can easily unmask these fraudulent profiles on social media. On Facebook, click a user's name to view their profile, then click it again to reveal their join date, profile updates, and history of nicknames. On X, click the three dots next to their profile picture and select “About this Account” to see their join date, location, and username changes. Watch out for brand-new accounts, frequent name changes, or locations that contradict their claims. This trick served me well when an "admirer" from Tennessee tried to entice me into a relationship; I checked her account and found the origin was actually Nigeria, and she had changed her name six times!
Beyond social media, free reverse email lookup tools like Mailmeteor and Icypeas can instantly reveal an email owner's name and location. You can also paste a fishy email or suspicious commission request into an AI chatbot and ask it to analyze the text for scams to get a full rundown of potential red flags.
As you can see, there are plenty of simple ways for writers, artists, and consumers alike to escape being scammed.
