The First Clue to an Email Scam May Be the Address

I doubt that there will be anyone reading this article who hasn’t been targeted by a writing scam. That’s how prevalent and aggressive they are these days.

Fraudsters who prey on writers employ a variety of methods to recruit clients: advertising (especially on Facebook, which is awash in ads for scam publishing service providers), sponsored links on Google (plug “find a publisher” into Google, and the top results will be for scam or vanity publishers), social media activity (watch out for seemingly friendly DM contacts)–and, most often, direct solicitation via email and phone calls purporting to offer publishing or agenting or film adaptation services…and, increasingly, impersonating companies and professionals in those fields.

Real, reputable literary agents and publishers and film production people, by contrast, rarely reach out to writers directly. But while that’s true 99% of the time, you can’t say it never happens. And for writerly activities like conferences, or interview or lecture invites, direct contact is common. So how do you distinguish the rare genuine contact from a scam solicitation? Often, the first clue is the sender’s email address.

Here are some things to watch for. All examples are drawn from reports and complaints received by Writer Beware.

Gmail and Other Non-Professional Email Addresses

A publishing professional, a conference, a radio or TV show, or a professional organization will most likely be emailing from their own or their company’s web domain. It’s possible, of course, that a literary agent might dash off an email from their personal account. But if someone purporting to be a publishing professional emails you from a non-professional address–AOL, Protonmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and the like–it is a pretty strong caution sign.

Over the past year, also, the Gmail addresses almost universally used by the aggressive AI-driven marketing and impersonation scams from Nigeria have become a warning sign all by themselves.

Some examples of non-pro addresses where you’d normally expect a company email domain (especially common with impersonation scams):

• info.us.npr@gmail.com (impersonating NPR with fake interview offers)
• ifcfilmsproduction@gmail.com
• penamerica.event@gmail.com (impersonating the PEN America Literary Gala with fake invites)
• harpercollins.publishers@aol.com
• macmillan@gmail.com
• turininternationalbookfair@gmail.com
• therightsfactoryagency@proton.me (impersonating The Rights Factory literary agency)
• ballyscullionbookfest@gmail.com (impersonating the Ballyscullion Park Book Festival with fake invites)
• amazonstudios@gmail.com

Nigerian book marketing scammers often use two first names, or names that otherwise seem weird. Their Gmail addresses often include numbers (hard to believe there are 8 other Harper Lynn Collinses):

• Judy Chinatown <chinatowncommunityjudy@gmail.com>
• Michael A. Marvellous <michael.a.marvellous.book@gmail.com>
• Freya Gregory’s <freyagreegorys@gmail.com>
• Grace Norah <gracenorah273@gmail.com>
• Lynn Mandi <mandilynn621@gmail.com>
• Santa k.f. Seifeuuyy <santakfseifeuuyy@gmail.com>
• Harper Collinsworth <harpercollinsworthbookexpert@gmail.com>
• Harper Lynn Collins <harperlynncollins09@gmail.com>
• Beloved.Mercy.Co.Organizer PBC <mercybeloved9@gmail.com>

Also popular with Nigerian book marketing scammers: addresses that include their supposed job title:

• judith.dmoderator@gmail.com
• joshua.bookgrowthpartnerships@gmail.com
• patricialaura.marketingspeci@gmail.com
• gracehannah.authorservices@gmail.com
• leatitia.wetsonlitagent@gmail.com
• Kierrabookpromotion006@gmail.com
• chloebennettbookmarketing@gmail.com
• dominichecarinofilmscout@gmail.com

Lookalike Email Domains

Impersonation fraudsters register email domains specifically to send out scam solicitations. The fake email addresses they choose are designed to look like real ones.

It’s important, therefore, to verify any out-of-the-blue publishing-, writing-, or movie rights-related email you receive, especially where you can’t tie it to a contact or submission you yourself made. The genuine email address may be findable on the official company website, or via references to it online; if not, try searching on X (where X = the company name) + email format to see if there are results from sites like RocketReach and ContactOut, which keep track of business email formats. For example, here’s HarperCollins.

Another quick test: load the email domain to see if there’s a website associated with it. Often there will be nothing there–or you may find a placeholder like this one, which was created to impersonate an editor.

Notice also how many of the fake addresses below break up names or phrases with periods (jeff.weber, annejhawkins.literaryagent, etc.). That format is something I see a lot with impersonation scams.

• jeff.weber@thepenguinrandomhouse.com (real email: @penguinrandomhouse.com)
• ebassoff@us-wmeagency.com (real email: @wmeagency.com)
• lexie.smith@lionsgatefilmproduction.com (real email: @lionsgate.com)
• support@wgamembers.org (real email: @wga.org)
• corporate@barnesnobleinfo.com (real email: @barnesandnoble.com)
• bookssubmissions@hachettebookgroup.ink (real email: @hbgusa.com)
• dan.lazar@writershouseliterary.com (real email: @writershouse.com)
• annejhawkins.literaryagent@gmail.com (real email: @jhalit.com)
• megan.lynch@flatironbooks.com.co (real email: @flatironbooks.com)

Sneaky Switcheroos

Some especially sneaky scammers “borrow” the authentic email address, but insert one or two subtle switches: a number interpolated for a letter (Pengu1n), two letters reversed (HarpreCollins), an extra letter added or omitted (Hachett). This kind of subterfuge–famously used by manuscript thief Filippo Bernardini–is especially hard to spot.

This one adds an “s” where an “s” shouldn’t be (real domain: penguinrandomhouse.com):

This one leaves out an “s” (the website at the real domain, parkesmacdonaldproductions.com, includes a warning).

Mismatches and Discrepancies

Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, but scammer emails often include telltale discrepancies or mismatches between email address and email content. Here, for example, the sender uses the name Nathan Lewis, but the email address belongs to Nathan Wellis or Nathan W. Ellis.

In this example, the sender’s From line (with the double “a” in Caarolyn) didn’t match their signature at the bottom (Carolyn with one “a”).

One name in the email address, another in the body of the email.

Same problem (my emphasis):

In this one, the sender’s email address in the “From” line doesn’t match the email address in their signature.

Just Plain Weirdness

Scam email addresses–especially for the editor impersonation scam that’s become so widespread over the past months–often feature awkward mashups of personal and company names. Beyond the fact that someone from Hachette or Trellis Literary Agency is unlikely to be using a Gmail or AOL address, they also won’t be combining the publisher’s name with their own, or tacking the publisher’s name onto a personal domain. (Here, as above, note the prevalence of periods.)

• shannonkelly.hachette.uk@aol.com
• carolinamancheno.harpercollins@aol.com
• caitlino.thebookgroup@gmail.com
• natalieedwardstrellisliterary@gmail.com
• aevitas.jenmarshall.literayagent@gmail.com (note the mis-spelling of “literary”)
• brendanbpenguinrandomhouse@gmail.com
• stmartins@vicki-lame.com (this domain and the one below resolve to identical placeholder webpages)
• sourcebooks@shana-dreh.com
• saraquery.megibowlitagent@gmail.com

Additional Email Scam-Spotting Tips

Wonky email addresses are just one of many potential scam signs. Others currently popular with publishing scammers include:

Non-typical salutations. Using myself as an example: Dear Victoria Strauss, rather than the more normal Dear Victoria or Dear Ms. Strauss. Ditto for Dear Author. Or no salutation at all. (First name/last name is the one I see most often.)

Extended and apparently accurate discussions of your book’s theme and plot points, coupled with effusive praise. A genuine contact won’t necessarily not include these–but both are established scam M.O.s, and should always prompt extra caution.

Emojis. When I first started getting reports of Nigerian marketing scam emails in the summer of last year, many of them were littered with emojis (you can see an example toward the end of this post). Marketing professionals communicate professionally, which means not writing emails that look like social media posts. I’m not seeing this so often nowadays, but it is still something to watch for, and a big caution sign.

Interminable email exchanges. Nigerian marketing scammers, especially, employ a boiled-frog approach, where they ease you gently toward the actual money ask over the course of multiple, often lengthy emails, with each email re-emphasizing how great they think you are and how excellently they can help you. It’s classic emotional manipulation: the deeper you’re drawn into the interaction, the more invested you become, the more plausible the scammer’s promises start to seem, and the harder it will ultimately be (the scammer hopes) for you to say no.

Insistent nudging. Scammers want to close the deal as fast as possible, so if you don’t respond right away (especially to payment requests) they may repeatedly check back in with “just following up on my last email” or “wondering if you’ve had a chance to evaluate my offer” communications–sometimes within hours of when they last contacted you.

Fees where they aren’t normally charged.This is always a warning sign. For example, real book clubs, radio shows, and conferences don’t charge fees to invited guests.

Non-reversible payment methods. Instead of credit card transactions, scammers will often require payment by methods that are difficult or impossible to dispute or reverse: wire transfers, Upwork or Fiverr invoices, Paypal Friends and Family, apps like Zelle or CashApp.

Invoices that lack vital information like names, addresses, and phone numbers. Scammers want to avoid accountability. Never pay an invoice that doesn’t offer full disclosure of the provider, their business, and how to contact the person.