It seems the scams keep on coming after writers. Since my last post on scams, a new set has emerged. They are even more devious than the last. Let’s start with the first that I noticed: email scam, a new approach.

I opened my email box one morning to discover an email that simply asked a question: “Is this the email of the author?” I sent a “yes” reply wondering what can of worms I was opening up. Before the day ended, I had a reply, “I ran across your book, and I think it needs a wider audience. I have some ideas. Are you interested?”

This is the opening salvo for the deluge to come. My box became full of emails just like this one with slightly different intros and slightly different replies. I wish I had a dollar….

I identified two distinct approaches. I’m sure there are more, but I stopped replying as my time is valuable and answering all these emails in hopes of finding one that is genuine takes a lot of time. Added to that is the time I spent researching each email, name, website, and business mentioned.

In scam number one, the scammer invites you to appear on a show where your book will be discussed. What author doesn’t want a chance like this? Unlike many other similar offers that come with a “participation fee,” this email definitely stated that there was no fee for being on the show. They asked if I would be interested in hearing the details and I responded that I would.

After a couple more emails, it came out that I would need some materials. This came as no surprise as I had just done a real podcast that invited me with no fee, and they needed some materials in advance to produce the show. Those materials included an electronic copy of my book, my picture, an image of the book cover, and a short biography. The scammer asked for more. An official event banner was said to be needed to advertise the show, and it had to be approved by the producer, but no specs or examples were given. In addition, a newspaper spotlight, an author companion journal, and a discussion journal were also needed for the show to begin.

 This seemed like a lot of work and with the date picked for the show only a month away, it would be difficult if not impossible for me to come up with these materials professionally produced. Not to worry! They suggested that if I could not complete these requirements and didn’t have a person on my team who could, they would steer me to someone who could, someone who turned out to have a Gmail address as did the person who contacted me. I was instructed to get in touch and talk with them about the cost of the project. I always am skeptical of unsolicited emails from a Gmail account. In this case I envisioned the same person who sent me the invitation would also be the same one answering my emails about the materials. I cut off communication at that point as it was clearly a scam.

The second scam also had a Gmail address and, after lauding my books and writing ability, something common in scams, they said they could help me gain a larger audience and they would only charge 2% of the gross sales generated. I immediately wondered how this could be accomplished without giving them access to my Amazon account but that was pushed aside when they offered to divulge additional details. The additional details were a series of packages with a cost that ran from $400 to $1200 depending on how many people I wanted to reach.

I was taken aback by the packages. I asked about them as he had said he would only charge 2% of gross sales, and he said the packages’ money was not for him. It was for promotion. I was never given any idea of how this promotion was going to take place. I talked with him on Google Meet and had trouble understanding his thick accent which I judged from experience, came from Nigeria. My final thought on this is, “Goodbye!”

I hope you are enjoying my travels in Scamland. I do it so you don’t have to!

https://www.irawhite.com