I’ve recently gotten a slew of reports of emails purporting to be from editors at Big 5 and other large publishers, in which the supposed editor expresses interest in the writer’s work and asks whether they have a literary agent.
I’ve posted a number of examples below. Apologies for so many images, but I wanted you to see, beyond the gen AI personalization and praise, how similar they are–including the identical phrases I’ve highlighted in red (I’ve redacted the authors’ details, along with information specific to their books).
![On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 4:54 PM Kinza <kinza.aziramacmillian@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear [redacted],
I hope this message finds you well. I am Kinza Azira, Commissioning Editor, Fiction at Pan Fiction & Mantle, Pan Macmillan, and [redacted] was recently brought to my attention. I have reviewed its description with great interest.
The emotional premise is immediately engaging. A romance that begins with the promise of renewal, only to fracture under the pressure of jealousy and obsession, offers strong psychological tension. [redacted] gradual shift from charming to possessive suggests a narrative that explores how easily affection can distort into control, particularly when unresolved histories linger beneath the surface.
[redacted] position between past and present, especially with [redacted] remaining a steady presence in his life, introduces a layered relational dynamic. The progression from subtle insecurity to dangerous fixation creates a natural escalation of stakes, while the reflective aftermath provides space for emotional growth and clarity. The suggestion that the most meaningful connection may have been present all along adds a poignant, character driven dimension to the story.
Contemporary relationship fiction that blends romance with psychological suspense continues to resonate strongly with readers, particularly when it examines themes of trust, perception, and emotional maturity. Your positioning of the novel as both romantic and cautionary gives it clear commercial appeal while maintaining emotional depth.
At Pan Macmillan, we are particularly interested in contemporary fiction that combines strong interpersonal drama with a compelling narrative arc. I would welcome the opportunity to learn more about your current and forthcoming projects, as well as whether you are represented by a literary agent. If so, I would be pleased to continue any discussion through them; if not, I would be happy to outline potential next steps directly. Subject to reviewing further material, there may be scope to explore how your work could align with our fiction publishing programme.
If this is of interest, I would be delighted to hear from you.
--
Kinza Azira
Commissioning Editor, Fiction
Pan Fiction & Mantle
Pan Macmillan Publishing house
6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR,United Kingdom.
TWITTER LINKEDLN WEBSTITE INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK LINKTREE](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-Azira.png)
![Kevin Downingbloomsbury@aol.com
Kevin Downingbloomsbury@aol.com
From Kevin Downingbloomsbury
To [redacted]
Date Today 19:25
Summary Headers Plain text
Hello [redacted],
I hope you're having a strong week.
My name is Kevin Downing, and I am an Editorial Director at Bloomsbury Publishing. I recently spent time with your work, particularly [redacted], and was struck by the clarity of your poetic vision and the authority you bring to historically and spiritually grounded narratives.
Your ability to fuse literary craft with cultural and educational insight—especially through persona poetry that invites both reflection and discussion—aligns well with areas we continue to develop within Bloomsbury's adult, faith-adjacent, and culturally focused publishing programme.
I would be very interested to learn more about your current or forthcoming projects, as well as whether you are represented by a literary agent. If you do have representation, I would be happy to continue any conversation through your agent. If not, I would be glad to outline how the process typically works should there be mutual interest in taking discussions further.
Subject to reviewing additional material, there may be scope for a broader conversation regarding potential editorial and publishing fit.
If this is of interest, I would be delighted to hear from you.
Warm regards,
Kevin Downing
Editorial Director
Bloomsbury Publishing](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-Downing-1.png)
![> On Mar 16, 2026, at 9:27 PM, Alessandra Balzer <harpercollins@alessandra-balzer.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> Hello [redacted],
>
> I hope you’re having a wonderful week.
>
> My name is Alessandra Balzer. I previously served in an editorial leadership role as Co-Publisher at HarperCollins and am currently working with Macmillan Publishers, where I focus on nonfiction that bridges expert insight with broad public relevance.
>
> I recently spent time with [redacted], and I was struck by both the depth and consistency of your work covering the [redacted]. The combination of journalistic rigor and human-centered storytelling, particularly your ability to translate complex issues like caregiving, retirement, and long-term care into accessible, engaging narratives, gives the collection lasting value for a wide readership.
>
> Your decades-long perspective, along with your experience covering policy and healthcare at both state and national levels, positions your work in a way that feels both authoritative and deeply practical. The continuity across your [redacted] series also suggests a strong foundation for further development, whether through updated editions, thematic expansions, or a more consolidated trade-focused volume for a broader market.
>
> I would be very interested in learning more about any current or forthcoming projects you may be developing, particularly if you are considering new work that builds on your extensive archive or addresses emerging issues in aging, healthcare, and longevity. I also wanted to ask whether you are presently represented by a literary agent. If so, I would be pleased to continue any discussion through your agent; if not, I would be happy to outline how the process typically works should there be mutual interest.
>
> Subject to reviewing additional material, there may be scope for a broader conversation regarding potential alignment with Macmillan’s nonfiction publishing program, particularly in the areas of aging, public policy, and lifestyle.
>
> If this sounds of interest, I would be delighted to hear from you and learn more about what you may be working on next.
>
> Warm regards,
>
> Alessandra Balzer
>
> Editorial Leadership
> (Co-Publisher) | HarperCollins publishers
> email Address harpercollins@alessandra-balzer.com
> website www.harpercollins.com](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-Balzer.png)
![From: Rosemary Brosnan <harpercollins@rosemary-brosnan.com>
Subject: Regarding Your Book [redacted]
Date: March 9, 2026 at 8:13:14 PM EDT
To: [redacted
Hello [redacted]
I hope you’re having a great week.
My name is Rosemary Brosnan, and I am a Vice President, Editorial Director at HarperCollins Publishers. I recently spent some time looking into your work, specifically [redacted], and I was struck by the bold and imaginative way the novel blends crime, spirituality, and philosophical inquiry.
The premise of [redacted] unfolding within the framework of a suspenseful prison narrative is both intriguing and highly original. The concept of [redacted] adds a thought-provoking dimension to the story, weaving metaphysical themes into a gripping and unconventional thriller.
I would be very interested to learn more about your current and forthcoming projects, as well as whether you are represented by a literary agent. If you do have representation, I would be pleased to continue any discussion through your agent. If not, I would be happy to outline how the process typically works should there be interest in taking the conversation further.
Subject to reviewing additional material, there may be scope for a broader discussion regarding potential fit within HarperCollins’ adult literary and speculative publishing programs.
If this is of interest, I would be delighted to hear from you.
Keep being awesome,
Rosemary Brosnan
Vice President, Editorial Director
Editorial Leadership & Oversight | HarperCollins Publishers
emailAddress harpercollins@rosemary-brosnan.com
website www.harpercollins.com](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-Brosnan.png)
I’ve seen additional emails–with the same highlighted phrases–using the names of Gabriella Mongelli of Hachette, Sarah Peed of PRH, Jesse Richards of Workman Publishing, Masie Cochran of Tin House, and Megan Tingley of Little, Brown. No doubt there are others.
As you will probably have gathered, this is a referral scam–actually a double referral scam, as you’ll see below. It appears to be yet another variant of the prolific AI-driven scams from Nigeria.
Referral 1: A Fake Literary Agent
I heard from three writers who responded to the initial solicitation, and exchanged several emails with the supposed editor before the scammer got to the point: recommending “one of our company’s private and reliable literary agents”. (Note: literary agents do not work for publishers. That would be the opposite of their actual function: to advocate on behalf of authors).
- “Rosemary Brosnan” recommended Leslie James, Literary Agent (lesliejames.agent@gmail.com).
- “Alessandra Balzer” recommended Wreth Maine, Literary Agent (wrethmaine@gmail.com).
- “Gabriella Mongelli” recommended James Mustelier, Literary Agent (jamesmustelier.literaryagent@gmail.com).
The first two “agent” names are fictional; a websearch on them turns up nothing. James Mustelier, however, is a real agent with The Bent Agency, whose identity has been appropriated by the scammer.
The three authors bowed out at the agent referral stage, and didn’t take the scam any farther. But I like to see where things go, and I’m always up for a challenge…so I contacted Leslie James myself, pretending to have been referred by “Rosemary”. Leslie replied warmly within a few hours (fast responses are a hallmark of this type of scam; they don’t want to waste any time getting your money, which is also why they keep nudging you if you don’t respond right away).
![Subject: Re: literary representation
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:18:04 +0100
From: Leslie James Agent <lesliejames.agent@gmail.com>
To: Victoria Strauss [redacted]
Hello Victoria
Thank you for reaching out, and I appreciate you contacting me.
To get started, I would need you to send over a query letter along with your manuscript for review. The query letter should include a brief overview of your book, its genre, word count, and a short author bio.
Once I’ve had the opportunity to review your materials, I’ll be able to determine the next steps and discuss potential representation.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
Leslie James Agent
Literary Agent | Author Representative
Query submissions welcome](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-Leslie-1.png)
Here is my query (the attached manuscript is a trunk ms. donated by a friend of Writer Beware for use in such situations; it has no similarity to my plot summary).
![Subject: Re: literary representation
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:57"47+0400
From: Victoria Strauss [redacted]
To: Leslie James Agent <lesliejames.agent@gmail.com>
Hello,
Thank you for responding so fast. Here is my query letter. My manuscript is attached.
-----------
Dear Literary Agent,
I am a first-time author who is looking for bestseller success with my first novel, Thymanya, complete at 593,750 words.
Thymanya resides in the fantasy genre. It is the gritty, hard-hitting story of a high school chemistry teacher living and working in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When he is unexpectedly diagnosed with lung cancer, he uses his chemistry skills to become a meth manufacturer and dealer. Though he becomes fantastically rich, his family life and relationships are devastated. In the end he succumbs to his disease, sadder but not wiser, with nothing to show for the years of criminal activity.
My expertise for writing this book is that when I was in high school I was addicted to meth. I'm fine now, thank goodness.
This book is detailed, exciting, and uses unconventional narrative techniques. I know it will be a critical and financial blockbuster, even internationally. I look forward to hearing from you, and discussing how publishing my book will bring us both money and success.
__
Victoria Strauss
Author website: https://victoriastrauss.com
Writer Beware: https://writerbeware.com
Writer Beware blog: https://writerbeware.blog](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-query.png)
You’ll notice that I’ve taken no trouble to conceal my identity–using my real name, email address (which I’ve redacted), and signature, which includes two links to Writer Beware. Along with the patently ridiculous query, this is an AI test: if these exchanges were monitored in any meaningful way, the scammer might cut off contact at this point.
At any rate, Leslie did identify a problem with my query–though not that my bloated fantasy novel ripped off the plot of a popular TV show. “After going through the query letter,” she wrote, “I noticed that it does not currently meet the standard format we would typically need for a strong submission to a major publisher such as HarperCollins.” (No kidding). “If you don’t mind, I can connect you with a professional consultant who has experience helping authors refine their query letters and prepare their manuscripts for submission.” Once my query was fixed, Leslie promised, “we can move forward with the submission process”.
This is at least a little clever: the referral to the “professional” isn’t a kissoff, but is framed as an intermediate step toward a reward down the road. It’s a tried and true referral technique, used by, among others, the myriad of fake literary agencies that referred writers to fraudulent editing service Edit Ink.
Referral 2: A Fake Book Doctor
The recommended professional consultant: Allie Oosta, Book Curator Doctor. This too appears to be an impersonation (there’s a LinkedIn for an Allie Oosta who’s an executive with Amazon Fashion); Fake Allie also is associated with the tipped reviewer scam.
I emailed Fake Allie. She responded within the hour, inviting me to send my query, which I did. Here’s her response, which again took less than an hour to get to me. As with Leslie, neither my excessive word count nor my improbable plot summary are a problem.
![Subject: Referral from Leslie James, literary Agent
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:43:24 +0100
From: Allie Oosta <allie.oosta.m@gmail.com>
To: Victoria Strauss [redacted]
Dear Victoria,
Thank you for sending your query letter.
I can certainly help you refine and restructure it so it becomes more competitive and suitable for submission to literary agents and publishers.
The work I will do includes:
• Refining the opening hook to immediately capture the agent’s attention.
• Restructuring the query to follow the professional industry format.
• Strengthening the story pitch and making the synopsis clearer and more compelling.
• Improving the presentation of your author background so it supports the project.
• Polishing the language and tone to ensure the letter sounds professional and persuasive.
• Preparing a clean, well-structured query letter that will be ready to send to publishers or literary agents.
Once the revision is completed, I will send you the fully refined query letter ready for submission.
The cost for this service will be $700.
Can you afford that ?
If you would like me to proceed, let me know and I will provide the payment details so we can begin working on your query letter.
Best regards,
Allie Oosta 💕❤️💕
Book Curator Doctor😁](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-Allie.png)
I could definitely afford it, I responded (so kind of her to ask!). Could she send me information for a bank transfer? (Note: never pay with bank or wire transfer! Unlike credit card charges, such payments can’t be reversed. I ask for this only because I’m collecting information and have no intention of paying.) She promptly provided it.
Once I get scammers to hand over their bank account info, I’m done with them. Being ignored makes them sad, however, and Allie emailed several times over the next few days to ask, plaintively, why I was ignoring her.
I also contacted “agent” Wreth Maine. His or her response was a bit different from Allie’s.
![From: Wreth Maine <wrethmaine@gmail.com>
To: Victoria Strauss [redacted]
Subject: Re: Referral from Allesandra Balzer
Dear Victoria,
Thank you for reaching out and for your interest in representation. I appreciate you considering us for your work.
At this time, we are not accepting new submissions. While I’m unable to review your project now, I encourage you to check back in the future should our submission status change.
Wishing you the very best with your book and your publishing journey.
Kind regards,](https://writerbeware.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agent-referral-scam-Wreth.png)
Hmmm. Maybe a human is monitoring things after all?
Spotting the Scam
Judging by the number of reports I’m getting, and the growing number of editor names involved, this is currently a very active scam.
Structurally, it’s similar to the Famous Author scam; an initial friendly solicitation, followed by a referral to a literary agent, who in turn refers to an editor or marketer who charges a fee. The only difference is that the initial contact comes from a scammer impersonating an editor, rather than a well-known author. In this circular process, the same scammer (or the same group of scammers) inhabits every persona, and writers are handed from one to the next, always arriving at a point where they have to pay.
If you see the emails all together, as in the screenshots at the top of this post, it’s obvious that they are using the same template, although personalized to the recipient. One email on its own, however, might seem at least somewhat plausible. But though it’s hard to conclusively say “never” in publishing, it is extremely unlikely that an editor at a major publishing house will contact you out of the blue, let alone invest so many paragraphs in summarizing and praising your work: these are busy people, and in any case, editors expect writers to come to them, not the other way around. Especially nowadays, with scams–in particular impersonation scams–being so prevalent, any emails like the ones above really can be dismissed outright as fraudulent. At the very least, they should be treated with extreme skepticism. And the moment money is mentioned, you should bail.
There’s also the matter of the email addresses. A genuine contact from an editor from Macmillan or Bloomsbury or HarperCollins would come from a company email address, not a Gmail or AOL address or a weird mashup like the fake addresses for Rosemary Brosnan and Alessandra Balzer, in which the recipient is “harpercollins” and the domain is the editor’s name. Those domains actually are registered, by the way; it’s common practice for scammers to register fake domain names in order to be able to email from them. This scammer seems to be fond of Squarespace.
There are even “coming soon” placeholder pages. Again, though, in terms of plausibility: how concidental is it that editor Alessandra Balzer would have registered her personal domain name just three days before contacting you? (The Alessandra Balzer example at the top of this post arrived on March 16.)
Finally, if you’re still in doubt, you can contact the publisher and ask. Most publishers are now extremely aware of the impersonation scam problem; all the majors have fraud alert pages (here’s HarperCollins’s), and are very willing to respond to questions.
And of course, you can contact me.
On payment, a few scam tips (other than the fact that there should never be a fee or purchase requirement associated with traditional publication or literary agent representation):
- As noted above, never pay for a publishing-related service via bank or wire transfer, because such payments can’t be reversed.
- When offering or demanding bank transfer, Nigerian scammers favor Wells Fargo and Lead Bank (I’ve collected dozens of examples).
- Be suspicious if you’re asked to pay via PayPal using the friends and family option. Scammers like this for the same reason they like bank transfer: these payments can’t be disputed.
- When I first started tracking Nigerian scams, many demanded payment to third parties via Upwork or Fiverr profiles. This seems to be less common now, but is still a caution sign.
- I’m seeing more payment requests routed through a platform called Coachli. There’s nothing fraudulent about the platform itself, as far as I know, but it is a platform specifically tailored to Nigerian and African service and content providers, and I’ve documented several Nigerian scams that have used it.
- If a provider invoices you from a payment platform like Payoneer, be extremely suspicious if the invoice lacks important information like a provider name and a description of services, or if the service description doesn’t match the service you want to buy. These are all problems I’ve seen with invoices from scammers.
I so appreciate this information. As a self-published author, it is hard to know who to trust. Of course, I want readers. Yet I do not want to be scammed. I seem to be learning more by my mistakes than by progress in selling my books. Since I have little knowledge of the inner workings of the book publishing business, or even how to use social marketing effectively, I feel I am spinning my wheels. I don’t want to be so eager to sell my books that I am not cautious of marketing scams. It is. very hard to know who to trust.
That is a lot
Very nicely done. That was a lot of work and is greatly appreciated.
I’m an indy writer (hard sci-fi) and I have been a party to several of these scams.
One scam asked me to write them a screenplay of one of my novels, which they insisted they were going to submit for a feature film. Their email address was an amaterish spoof of a well known movie producer. I still haven’t figured out what their end-game was on that one.
Thank you once again for your vigilance in helping writers avoid these scams.
Victoria, thank you for your scam review. It increases my confidence with the truth to not be deceived. It is good to know you are helping authors to be aware of these crooks who want to steal honest authors out of their income.
I suspect most of these are actual human beings. You’d be surprised at, ironically, the amount of work scammers put into this stuff if what I have seen on Threads is anything to go by. Lately they’ve been trying the, “Oh, I know a guy” shtick and then linking to their Fiverr or Upwork profiles.
I can’t thank you enough for this work, by the way. It has helped me and allowed me to educate other indie authors as to what is going on.
Recently I’ve experienced what I take is a new scam: Someone from Netflix would like to make something about me and one of my old publishings, and the offer looks quite enticing. After seeing that, I wonder what will be next ….
Thank you for this, Victoria! I received an email just like this from someone named “Logan Penguin,” who claimed to be a “senior editor” with Penguin Random House. He used a Gmail address to spam 38 people and didn’t even bother to hide the addresses he was emailing. He also used the exact phrase you highlighted above. Needless to say, he got hammered by several recipients and lashed out in anger after several called him a scammer. Keep up the good work, Victoria!
Thank you for this information. I’ve already heard via email by an “editor.”
Even us nonfiction article writers are getting people trying to dupe us. One of my friends has an equine endeavor, which I have written about and published in various horse magazines like Young Rider, Signature MT and others. She was contacted by a supposed magazine about doing an article on her business. After researching, I found out they were using the name of a magazine I used to write for and that was no longer in business. I was able to contact the former editor and verify that someone was using her old business name to get people to pay for articles in magazines that didn’t exist.
| it is extremely unlilkely that an editor
Only a neurotic one…
> it is extremely unlikely that an editor
😊
Oops. (thx)
Keep up the good work. It is very helpful. Let me know if you can get GPS coordinates for the scammer’s physical site. I’ll see what I can do.
Thanks for doing this. In 2018, For the sole purpose of personal process, I wrote a small memoir (My Secret Life, Days of Heaven in the Realm of the Devil) self-published through Balboa press, listed on Amazon. I wrote under pseudonym (Karrie Water. Don’t know how these people got my email and phone number. I’ve been phoned and emailed as many a three times a week since 2021. In a couple of solicitations, I’ve been offered to appear in the New York Times Magazine and appear on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert–kind of a red flag.🙂 I have all these offers in a personal file, if you ever need more material.
I never dreamed I would miss the good old days where we blindly packaged our manuscripts up and sent them by USPS, then waited impatiently for mailed replies, or better yet–phone calls, from editors. Thank you again, Victoria, for your time and tireless service.
I receive author scams monthly, I have saved several of them. Do you accept us subscribers sending you some of them? I never answer them. They can be as simple as, “Hi, I’d like to know more about what inspired you to write your novel”, to book clubs, marketing strategists and other elaborate ruses. One came in German text, it was quite funny, but also kind of sad.
I have to admit, one of them gave such a spot-on pitch/summary of my novel, that I copy/pasted it for a future pitch, lol. Thank you scammer. The red flags are all there, and you can tell the text is AI generated. And as you advise, editors/publishers do not randomly reach out of the blue. One has to reach out to them. Thank you, I enjoy reading your articles.
Writers can always send me scams. I just ask that you go through my recent blog posts so you know what I’ve already identified and written about (in which case I’ll usually have already compiled a lot of documentation).
I greatly appreciate your thorough and thoughtful warnings. I, like other authors, have received a number of these emails. I’m a journalist who doesn’t trust a lot of what’s online. Still, the first time I got one of these emails I was flattered for a few minutes then I realized it’s a scam.
So glad you are here to raise red flags for us when you see these things.
Victoria, another great article! One other immediate tip-off in these–editors saying “My name is …” and then going on to tell what they do (and in one case also say where they USED to work). No editor does this!
Thanks!
That’s a marker with the Famous Author scams too–a well-known author is not going to introduce themselves as if they were querying for a manuscript or applying for a job.
Thank you; I receive about 7 of these Gmail scam emails every day.
Ugh. You mentioned Fiverr! How do we know, when searching on that platform, who are really freelace editors, cover designers, etc?? I’m so tired of the scamming!
I honestly don’t know how prevalent scams are on these platforms. I’ve never used them myself, though I know people who’ve hired Fiverr or Upwork freelancers and have not had any problems. My guess is that you’d want to look for actual work examples and testimonials that can be traced to real people.
I received one of these today from “harpercollins” UK. I dug through the actual publisher’s website until I found the fraud email address and sent them a copy of that fake outreach.
I have had many of these. I always block anyone who contacts me using a gmail address or resident in Nigeria. But thanks for explaining the “Friends & Family” trick – I didn’t know that but it explains a lot.
The “Friends & Family” trick is also prevalent in romance scams. I know, because I almost got scammed.
Yes, I steered a friend away from this exact kind of email from one “Maggie Caldwell” at PRH. The ridiculous email address was a dead giveaway. m.caldwellrandomhousebooks@aol.com>
I just talked with someone from Palmetto publishing. Any thoughts about scam from them?
Palmetto isn’t a scam, and I’ve heard from authors who are very happy with the services they received. However, it is pricey, and when you’re considering self-publishing, comparison shopping is always a good idea. Resources to help on Writer Beware’s Self-Publishing page: http://www.writerbeware.com/.
The Gmail address gives it away instantly.
Great work! Impressed with your dogged pursuit of these scammers. Keep it up. Also, hope you are submitting these scams and their bank information to some regulatory authority. They need to be reported and stopped!
I do contact the banks to report fraud; they respond with a form email and don’t provide any updates, but one of the scammers whose account I reported contacted me the next day to let me know they were having “temporary trouble” and I needed to use a different payment method. So maybe reporting has some impact (although it’s whack-a-mole).
I am a writer and would like to ask: Who can a person trust in an AI generated world? I am disabled and find it extremely hard to know just who in the publishing world you can trust. Thanks for the updates.
As a general rule of thumb, you can assume that anyone who contacts you is likely to be a scammer. In publishing, the general rule is that they expect you to come to them–not the other way around.
The best way to protect yourself is to know as much as possible about publishing and self-publishing (depending on which path you’d like to choose). The more you know about how things should work, the easier it will be to reocgnize dishonest or disreputable actors when you encounter them. There’s extensive information to help at Writer Beware’s website (as distinct from this blog): http://www.writerbeware.com/
Give a three minute warning, then bomb all known Nigerian internet hubs.