In the early days of Writer Beware–back in the pre-digital era–scammers waited for writers to come to them.
Sure, they advertised (Writer’s Digest used to have a Classified section that was full of scam ads; one notorious scam agency placed ads in their local Pennysaver). They had websites. And thanks to often lax oversight, they sometimes wound up in reputable market guides (cough *Literary Market Place* cough). But generally speaking, if you were scammed it was because you approached the scammer, not the other way around. (I don’t mean to suggest that being scammed was the writers’ fault; it was just the way things worked at the time.)
That’s no longer the case. Starting in the mid-twentyteens with the first wave of scams from overseas, direct solicitation became one of scammers’ main victim-recruiting techniques (the other: ads on Facebook). And increasingly, these solicitations involved impersonation–of literary agents, publishers, editors, film production companies, and more–to grab writers’ attention and trick them into parting with large amounts of cash.
I wrote my first post about impersonation scams in early 2020. Today, they’re so common that there’s a whole category devoted to them on this blog. If you write, no matter what your genre is or how you publish, you’ve probably been targeted.
That’s why I’m sure that today’s guest post from author Denise Beck-Clark will resonate with you. Denise details her own recent experience with an impersonation scammer, highlighting how elaborate such frauds have become thanks to scammers’ adoption of generative AI, and the vulnerabilities that make writers susceptible to them. She also points out that the authors the scammers seek to defraud are not the only victims. (You may remember Denise from her post last year about a different, somewhat less complicated impersonation scam.)
A Narrow Escape
by
It’s called an “Imposter Scam” and it’s become quite popular these days, according to Victoria Strauss who monitors scams against writers in her excellent website, “Writer Beware.”
I’m not exaggerating when I say I have the occasion several times a week to be taken in by a scam. I want to call it a writer’s scam but that makes it sound like it’s the writer perpetuating the scam while the truth is it’s the writer who is being scammed.
Thanks to self-publishing my most recent novel, I am bombarded with phone calls, emails, and texts from people claiming to be from companies who either want to sell my book to a “traditional” publisher as they call them, or to promote my book.
After I lost a few thousand dollars almost two years ago, I’ve been cautious. But the scams are growing ever more sophisticated, viz., the one that almost just happened to me.
It started a couple of weeks ago with an email from one “Anna Michels” from a company called “BestSolution Publishing.” Interestingly, I rescued it from my Spam folder.
The email was quite literate and at the end of it was a picture of a pretty, young white woman wearing a big hat with address, phone number and email address that all looked perfectly realistic. Except for one thing: to my knowledge most young people these days don’t use AOL as their email provider, but she did.
As did “Eric Simonoff”, the literary agent “Anna” recommended to me. Their names are in quotes because that is the heart of the Imposter scam: people use the names of real people in the publishing industry, trying to get the writer to believe they’re being contacted by people who want nothing more than to help their self-published book become a New York Times bestseller.
Thus, “Anna’s” first email to me was all about how she came upon my novel and how it has great potential, etc. etc. Upon my responding favorably to her email, she gave me the name of the literary agent “Eric Simonoff.” Of course, I Googled him, and after seeing lovely pictures of him and his wife and a long list of writers with whom he’s worked, some of whom I’ve read, I contacted him immediately.
Before I go on, I want to say that at the get-go I told “Anna,” and then “Eric,” that I had been scammed for several thousand dollars and I was not going to fork over any money. For anything.
“Eric’s” ploy was to list all the great things about my book, and then to list the ways it could use improvement. Okay, those lists sounded realistic, too. I want to add here that both of their emails were literate with fine grammar and spelling. I didn’t realize then that thanks to AI you could be totally illiterate and non-English speaking and still put out a perfectly literate document in English.
Anyway, the request for money came in the form of “Eric,” the literary agent, so-called, saying a “professional editor” would be needed to whip my book into such great shape that when he would submit it to “traditional publishers” it would be in excellent standing, competing with the masses of other submitted novels that fall upon publishers’ desks these days. I, all innocence, had said, I thought that editing a book is something a publisher does upon acquiring a manuscript. Yes, that used to be the case, “Eric” said, but these days there’s so much competition that it’s best to have the editing done before the publisher reads it.
These emails went on for about ten days, during which time I was starting to get more suspicious. As it was, I was feeling that I had already told them too much about myself, such as my publishing history and future publishing plans. I believed them, until one day I didn’t.
When you’re suspicious, every little detail of an interaction is potentially revealing, potentially the one that turns something you consider legitimate into the opposite. In this case, what started with the so-called “Anna Michels” also ended with her. She, who was the initial contact, had put me in touch with “Eric Simonoff,” claiming that she would be part of the communication with him, including cc’s on all emails, presumably to make me feel more comfortable with him entering the relationship. Well, from the first email to him, I was the only one cc’ing emails to “Anna.” He never did. As the sense of “it’s too good to be true” started gaining momentum in my mind, I spoke about it to friends, one of whom in response to my saying the emails were so literate, said “That’s AI.”
Plus, there was repetition, of what they said and what I said, including that I wasn’t going to pay for anything. That’s when, after not hearing from “Anna” for a week, I got an email from her, which tried to persuade me to go along with “Eric’s” suggestion of hiring an independent editor to make the book better and more likely to be purchased by a “traditional” publisher. I even responded by providing other ways of doing that that wouldn’t cost anything.
That was the last I heard from them. A couple of times, still believing they were publishing professionals affiliated with the companies shown on Google, I almost wrote to them at those places. But then I reminded myself, Anna Michels and Eric Simonoff were not who I was dealing with.
Scams upon artists, including writers and especially writers who self-publish, have the particular quality of appealing to the heart of someone who is starving for praise and approval of their work. A few years ago, I actually had a woman contact me saying she wanted to buy some of my “artwork” for her husband’s birthday. My “artwork” consists of drawings I’ve done that have appeared on a very small scale, here and there; I was not only shocked when I heard from this woman but hugely flattered. I mean, my drawings really are great, aren’t they? Anyone who would just happen to see them would agree, no? In that case, too, after our negotiations went on for a few days, and the plan to pay and receive the drawings got more and more complicated, I realized something wasn’t kosher and called the whole thing off.
For some reason, the legal world doesn’t have a special category for scams against writers/artists. Like when I tried to recoup from my bank the money I lost two years ago, they didn’t call it fraud, they called it “non-deliverance of paid-for services.”
As the imposter scams happen more and more often, there’s another victim besides the writer, and that is the publisher/editor/agent who is being impostered. There is a real Anna Michel, and a real Eric Simonoff. I wish they would step up and do something about someone using their name and/or identity to rob other people of their money. The more we know, the less likely we are to go for the scam. Also, in the rare cases that the imposters get caught, there should be consequences. Now it’s likely happening with such great frequency because they don’t get caught and there are no consequences.
Easy money, eh? Maybe, but not for me.
Note from Victoria: I’ve gotten a number of reports of solicitations from the scam that contacted Denise, BestSolution Publishing. Its website includes a large roster of fake staffers with stolen or stock photos–including a stolen photo of the real Anna Michels, who is the Senior Editorial Director at Sourcebooks–and whose names don’t necessarily match the gender of their images.
Denise Beck-Clark is the author of Thirty Years Hence, A Novel and Concurrent Sentences: A True Story of Murder, Love and Redemption. She has also written essays on Medium and Substack. Find out more at her website: www.denisebeck-clark.com.
The scammers are out of control since AI and there’s nothing that can be done aside from being on alert. I probably get at least 30 scam emails each month between my two emails. Most are obvious, but with a couple, I have to read a bit to know for sure. I have gotten some that have better descriptions of my books than I do. I saved one in particular to use in promotion.
The real problem is that it’s come to a point where authors are suspicious of everyone; I am.
Thank you, Victoria for devoting your time and effort into Writers Beware.
Sorry, that should be Writer Beware! I should really proof before posting.
I have lost 12,000 to what I thought was a legal publisher. Oxford Publishers, they claim to be part of the KDP network. It’s very easy to be led astray. They praised my book and then tore it apart. The skipped chapters, took out essential characters etc. I did end up with a paperback, even though I purposely insisted on a hardcover. I stopped, at least I got something out of it.
Oxford Publishers is part of a large group of scams that pose online as self-publishing service providers, and often claim affiliation with Amazon and/or KDP. They also advertise prolifically on Facebook.
For future reference, my blog post discusses these scams, where they come from, what happens to writers who get involved with them, and the markers that identify them: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/
Self-publishing and marketing is hard work and sometimes on the surface these offers seem so appealing. I got one this morning where it was obvious that the sender (or their AI bot) had done a deep dive of my website, Amazon, Kobo, and B&N pages, and she was also correct; 17 books, 3 genres, minimal sales, no recent reviews. (Why do I keep banging my head against the wall?) I have an e-commerce website, a strong social media presence, used Zeely and other programs. Of course an opportunity like that would sound appealing, BUT I’m also retired, on a fixed income, and I fund my marketing by teaching first aid and defensive driving classes. So my first question will be, “If my books are so great (and I think they are) shouldn’t you be paying me to sell them?” That usually shuts down the scam on the first offer. Occasionally I’ll get a “yes, but…” reply to which, if I even reply, it’s “Thanks, but no thanks.” I learned a long time ago that an offer that sounds too good to be true, usually is.
I have been scammed out of more than $200,00. I think the FBI is getting involved with all this.
I’m contacted weekly by so-called book clubs, Book promoters, and even a US FM Radio show, inviting me to promote my book or myself as an author, with them. They quote perfectly from whichever of my books they are targeting; their synopses are to die for! But of course, AI has read my book and knows it perfectly. Asking for money is way down on their agenda (sigh), but would kick in big time should I reply – which I did a couple of times. Luckily for me, I asked others who said, scam-scam-scam-AI-AI-AI!! It’s a sad new world
for writers and authors today. My advice – always ask trusted friends for advice before responding and always read Victoria’s blog and newsletter!!!
Thanks for a great article about such a creepy and common problem. I’m often approached by imposter scammers. But there’s a sure-fire way to spot them. Look at the domain of the email. What is the dot-com domain name? They almost always have a email address from @ “gmail.com” or “yahoo.com” or “aol.com” etc. For example, a fake “Liza” from Penguin Random House might be “Liza.penguinrandomhouse@gmail.com.” A person from a legit publishing company or agency would have an email address based upon the company they represent (e.g., Liza@penguinrandomhouse.com), not from gmail. Hope that helps others. (Please note that is a made up email address!)
I find it (sadly) amusing when scammers tell me, in great, flowery detail, what my book is about. (Duh. Like I forgot that I wrote it – ?)
It is not proof that they’ve read it (and think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread); it is proof that they (and/or AI) are good at scraping content from the book’s back-cover blurb and from my website, to fabricate a lovely piece of bait.
I file the better quality scam emails in a folder called “They Wanna Make Me Famous.” Sometimes I poke in that folder for a laugh.
Yep. I have sent entire scripts to people who offer to read and then suddenly they ghost you. But over the last couple of years I have paid close attention to publishers and agents. I have a list of publishers and agents who should I ever write anything worthwhile will be the ones I will approach. The rest are crossed off in red. At the very top are those special ones who took the time to encourage and respond with kindness. I wont have to spend hours anxiously searching and that gives more time to write. I hope I can one day send them a good script.
As an indie author I’ve had many, many of these scammers’ emails in my in-box. Sometimes I ignore them, sometimes I like to tease them, pretending to go along. I’ve invented a new game: it’s called CONFUSABOT. I simply forward the most recent email to whoever (or whatever) sent me the previous one. However, I do have a question. I run Arun Scribes International, a writers’ group on Facebook (and in person for local authors) and I am always telling the Scribes about Writer Beware. Is there any way I can share this post to my group without infringing anyone’s copyright?
Feel free to share the post with your group–and thanks for recommending Writer Beware!
Thank you for this. We artists/writers know they’re out there. And, yes, they seem so authentic. Thank you for sharing this experience so that we can all see how really intricate it is and how hard they’re working to scam us.
I’m both traditionally published and a self-publisher, so I have dozens of titles on Amazon. That means I get several phishing attempts every day. First it was “book clubs.” Then it was spoofed real people in the publishing industry, like the purported editorial director at a major house who asked if I had an agent. A day after I gave my agent’s name and contact info, I got an email suggesting my agent was “not a good fit” for my work and offering to connect me to a new one. It was a lead-in to the old fake-agent scam.
If you get one of these, you can often find the spoofed person’s real email address on the publisher’s site. It will never end with a gmail address, while the fakes usually do.
But, best advice, just always assume it’s an AI-generated scam and delete the email.
As for making a connection in the real world, I advise going to writers conferences where real editors and agents are willing to sit down and hear a pitch and read a few pages from a hopeful author. Those professionals go there because they are genuinely looking for fresh talent.
Thank you so much for this column. I was going to say I don’t need it – requests for interviews, film deals et al don’t come with gush, but at most two paragraphs: do you hold the film rights, can you spare the time etc. But I also mentor emerging writers, and your web site and newsletter has saved so many of those who can’t afford the money, time and heartbreak on scams. I can warn: your web site substantiates the magnitude of the fraud. After a week of scams it’s good to read this, and know I’m part of a multitude. The ‘best’ scam was from “”Cambridge University Press”” offering me 200% more royalties than Harper Collins, my long term publisher, as well as purchasing the publication rights from them. They didn’t explain how they’d stay viable with this generosity. Thank you again, Jackie French, Australia
I use the rule that no agent will have the time to contact me to publish my books. No matter how flattering the email is, it isn’t going to happen. I get emails on a book that is over 10 years old. An agent is really going to contact me to publish it again or to make it into a movies? Not happening. I’ve learned to put all of those to spam. And agents do not use Google, AOL, Outlook, or Yahoo for their email if they have been in the business for any length of time.
Thank you Victoria and thank you, Denise. I too have been scammed out of thousands of dollars.
I feel for her and I hope (thanks to this article) that her work gets some attention. I use a traditional publisher now but my first book was with a hybrid publisher and once you do that you are on the scammers radar for life. It’s incredibly annoying.
I cannot believe I just lost $750 to a scammer who was impersonating my web designer–who had put a warning in his newsletter a couple of months ago of someone impersonating him!!! I am always careful about author scams, and I did notice that suddenly my guy was emailing me from “hiswebsiteaddress”@gmail (to be fair, he does have a gmail address, but that’s not it). I wrote to him at the regular address, which bounced back, so I figured he’d changed his address for some reason. Duh.
There were some other red flags, too: the real guy always spells my name wrong, and uses a shortened form of his own name, which the scammer didn’t do. And the proposal he sent was very businesslike. I just figured he was using AI. Accckkkk!!!!!!!
Long story too stupid to tell, the scammer actually did the work on my website (and did a good job). It was when the second half of the bill came due that I realized I’d been had. The impersonator was asking me to send the money to a weird name on a personal bank account in OR. The real guy is in the UK. Even after I called him out on his perfidy, he continued emailing, trying to convince me he was legit and a good person, who just happened to have the same first name as the person he was impersonating (and used the real guy’s photo and email footer).
I’ll be surprised if I get my money back, but I keep my fingers and toes crossed.
The guy that nearly got me sent a pdf of what he could do to promote my book. I stupidly downloaded it and got four severe malware trying to access my computer . AI told me how to get rid of them and to change my financial information passwords . A lot of work. Nasty scammers
I receive at least two per week. The first one I received one a year ago I was of course excited that someone was interested in my self published novel (writers – we live for praise from people that don’t know us!). After some back and forth I figured out it was a scam (I’m from Brooklyn – we know scams!) and I decided to play with the scammer – mentioning I have $10K to spend on marketing. It was fun for a while but also a negative time suck. In the last few months I have received emails from scammers using the names of real agents and publishers. Thanks to AI it’s easy to get emails of the real person so I forward them the scammer email. I send the scammer a note that I’ve forwarded their email to the real so-and-on and they better watch their ass. I’ve almost received a thank from the real person. (tempted to contact them when I am l looking for a publisher for my next novel!
As Victoria knows from my correspondence with her about this same “tactic”, I almost fell for a fake Literary agent whose identity was stolen. After three weeks of phone contact and correspondence with the fake agent, the subject of the need for “professional editing” came up and a price tag of $1500. Immediately alarm bells went off in my head and I fact checked the agent’s identity with the legitimate publishing house. Naturally they had never had any contact with the agent and were grateful for the information I gave them. My last correspondence with the fake agent was a letter stating the fact that I had checked with the publishing house and verified that she was a fake. Never heard from her again – case closed!
I hear ya! Publishing a book is like jumping into river full of piranhas. The bot farms in Myanmar and the Philippines are industries unto themselves. These days I don’t respond. When I used to respond, I asked for a Zoom call, and that was the ultimate litmus test. So far as I can tell, the scammers haven’t come up with a deepfake mannequin. Yet. Good luck!
Has anyone ever heard of anyone who was ever contacted by a legitimate, non-scam person? I have not. I lead a small writers organization and my policy is: If they contact you, it’s not real! No agent, editor or other person goes scouting around on Amazon so they can “run into” anyone’s book. There are several million books published each year. No-one has that kind of time. Folks at companies are already inundated by submissions that keep them very busy selecting the 1-5% they can even consider. BTW – I get lots of scam contacts because I lead book groups and they ran into my book (I don’t have one to run into) and want to feature it in their group…. ha ha… I receive only a few aimed at me about my book on Amazon – again, I don’t have one – but I finally figured out they are using an Amazon contact list of authors named “Linda.” Good grief!
While you can safely assume that 99.9% of solicitations you receive are indeed scams, it’s not unknown for reputable agents to reach out directly, usually because they spotted the writer’s work and want to make contact. It’s pretty unlikely, but you can’t say it _never_ happens. However, a genuine contact won’t spend six paragraphs summarizing your book, is very unlikely to come from a Gmail, AOL, or other non-professional address, and will never require a fee or refer you to an editor or other paid service.
Writers’ conferences and interviewers do reach out directly to guests they want to feature–the key there, though, is that they never ask for money.
Also lost several thousand dollars to scammers last year, hypervigilant now. Actually quite rude to people I suspect to be scammers. Yes, it’s like the lawless, wild West out there for writers and publishers. One of my sons has just published a business book with a highly reputable publisher, and already his inbox is flooded by Scammers. The time it takes to sort through the Muddy Miire its not insignificantand. Wasting time is a real loss for serious writers.
Janet Levine
What I don’t understand is why ANY AUTHOR would pay ANY ATTENTION to these scams? Sounds like Denise’s spam filter was smarter than she was
I was just scammed by a self publishing company, Writers Clique and I am truly embarrassed about how much money I gave them. This what I learned sbout the scammers.
They have good cops and bad cops. My initial contact was Bob Fisher. He was very attentive called me every week to see how things were. He had an answer for every question I asked. He was starting to feel like someone who genuinely cared. On some of those weekly calls he needed money for various aspects of the publishing ( I should have known right then and got out) given my naivety this being my first book I did not follow my instincts nor did I asked enough questions. Things went on my book got on Amazon, they sent me 50 copies for my own use..which made it seem all on the up and up.
These companies give you just enough to ring you in and then when it comes to PR/ Msrketing they completely drop the ball.
I got a call saying Bob had been transferred to another department and st that point everything changed. I was then told to receive the royalties for the 700 (a lie) books I sold I would now have to open a 5000 dollar escrow account.
Needless to say I am currently working on a fraud claim with my bank.
WRITERS BEWARE the complies have no shame,
Mj
I took a look at the Writers Clique website, and based on what I see there, it’s this scam: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/ . Markers include unverifiable claims of expertise and the provision of ghostwriting/book writing services (a universal feature of this type of scam).
They love to run high-dollar frauds. I’ve gotten other reports from authors who were extorted for payments to receive (non-existent) royalties; book order scams are another favorite.
Hope you get your money back.
This post confirms what I thought. Over the past week I have been contacted by two editorial director imposters from real traditional publishers. I did my due diligence. I asked the question in my writers groups online, I subscribed to writer beware and read a few posts on the subjectand I checked the publishers websites. One of them was very clear about the number of imposters out there. The other one didn’t have any information. But they are both scammers. And I am going to put their names into my writers groups so that others may beware.
Thank you for this post.
I’m currently writing a non-fiction/ creative fiction novel and this really makes me nervous. I have a children’ book out there from 2011. It was re-published after having it traditionally published however the second time I re-self -published because of issues with the former publisher of four years. Anyway since 2011 when I re-published I have had nothing but scammers trying to convince me to re-publish my book and of course for a cost. I was definitely scammed for money after re-publishing my book because I believed in the lies and was very new at publishing.
Recently I’m getting bombarded by this caller from a company called Lead Magnet wanting to feature my children’s books and how they love and want this book.I didn’t use my original illustrator family member because he didn’t trust these other publishers with his works.I’ve moved on to novel writing for adults and it scares me a great deal these scammers will come knocking. It’s so hard to live the life we want with these vaulters lying in wait to destroy our lifes and work.
The best defense against scams is to have a decent grounding in the basics of the publishing and self-publishing industry. If you know how thing should work, it’s easier to identify bad actors when you encounter them.
I know it feels overwhelming, but it honestly is not difficult to identify writing scams, once you know a bit about them, and if you are alert to the latest developments. To help with that, you might consider subscribing to this blog, where I regularly report on scams (as well as happenings in the publishing industry), and looking back through my posts over the past year or two to get a sense of the scams that are circulating right now.
Those trying lines are “I recently had the opportunity” and “warm regards.” But wow do they do a fantastic job of getting the essence of your collection down right.
Thank you for the post. I hate AI. After reading your post, I have to ask, what is a writer to do? Just who can you trust?
Exactly the same thing happened to me. I was first contacted by Abigail Gehring from Skyhorse Publishing, who put me in contact with Amelia from Triada Literary agency, who then put out me into contact with Henry Godwin, editor. All impersonating real people. The communications were totally professional, restrained and convincing.
I was approached in a like manner. I am the author of eight novels.
A book publisher, Tony Perez from Tin House Publishing, said he had a literary agent, Abigail Frank, who would be interested in being my agent. I checked her out and learned she was indeed an agent. Abigail told me I needed to ready my book for Tin House Publishing. She recommended Faith A. Robinson, who was a specialist in query letters and formation. The person was real. I was scammed for $2,240. I later was able to connect with the real Abigail Frank, who was very nice, and she informed me that I had been scammed.
I lost £1000 to a scammer who claimed to be an audiobook publisher. I am relieved to know I am not alone.
Iv’e had at least a half dozen of these. When I question why theyare not using their corporate email the excuse is always the same. Their email system is overwhelmed with requests and their IT is working to fix the issue. This is an absolutely uninformed answered. It usually only take one or two responses like this and they go away.
The funniest one of these I’ve got was somebody attempting to impersonate the acquisitions person at Flame Tree.
Which is funny because five minutes on my socials would have told them they were targeting somebody who has, in fact, sold several short stories to Flame Tree and has an existing relationship with them. (And yes, they are impersonating reputable small presses now).
Also, watch out for invitations to events…I got invited to a nonexistent virtual event recently…that was supposedly attached to a major book conference.
Having been getting a slew of them. Here’s one of the latest:
Dear Frank William Finney,
My name is Mike Hopkins, and I’m reaching out regarding your poetry collection, Preludes to Lethe.
I recently had the opportunity to learn more about the collection, and I was particularly drawn to its atmospheric exploration of memory, time, grief, presence, and the quiet ways in which the past continues to shape us. The imagery of water, fading memories, ordinary places, and the boundary between the familiar and the haunting gives the work a distinctive emotional and visual quality.
The collection’s movement between memory and myth, while remaining grounded in recognizable settings such as ponds, docks, hotel rooms, and village greens, creates an intriguing contrast between the everyday and the uncanny. Its restrained treatment of grief and nostalgia, combined with wit, wordplay, and classical echoes, provides a rich foundation for a visually expressive adaptation.
I believe Preludes to Lethe could have meaningful potential as a screen adaptation, particularly as an atmospheric and poetic film or anthology project that translates the collection’s interconnected themes and imagery into a contemplative visual experience.
I would be interested in learning whether you would be open to discussing potential film or television adaptation opportunities for the property, as well as the availability of its relevant adaptation rights.
If you are open to exploring the possibility, I would be happy to continue the conversation and discuss the appropriate next steps.
Warm regards,
Mike Hopkins
Senior Vice President
Prime Video and Amazon Studios
Mike Hopkins wrote: