Interesting Info Regarding My Scam Experience ~ How Did They Find Me?

There was a period when I was checking my website analytics daily. I'd been experimenting with adding content to my author site to determine if that would drive more visits (the jury is still out on that). Then I got sidetracked and stopped checking. 

Well, what do you know? I looked today and found a new user in the Philippines during the date range of when my scammer first contacted me. So, I don't know if these outfits employ bots to locate author websites (because there must be millions of them), but however they do it, that's how they found me. I did think it was strange for them to zero in on any of my books via Amazon, because my books are so buried, no one can find them. 

It's rather ingenious. In addition to showcasing my books, I include the blurbs, so anyone could pretend they've read one of them simply by reciting the plot overview. 

I was reading a post on Writer Beware that includes this statement:

If you’re new to writing, or to seeking publication, and just started reading this blog, it may seem like there are so many scams out there that everyone is potentially a wolf, and you can never be sure what’s real and what’s not. I often hear from writers who are deep in this mindset, and it can be profoundly dispiriting and demotivating.  

That's who I'm becoming. Am I supposed to NOT advertise my work via a website, fearing that everyone is out to defraud me? Are all my visitors people like that? 

Just yesterday I received another scam email. Do these companies share their lists, or is it all the same company? This time it was Noble Books Publishing, which is offering:

 

First of all, I don't need any of that, but that's beside the point. Even AI knows the company is a scam:

From Authors Guild:

The Writer Beware article from which I quoted concerns individuals posing as authors (or impersonating actual authors) on social media, and contacting other authors to "discuss writing". After a brief back and forth, the so-called author goes on to recommend their "great" marketer.

That happened to me. I opened a LinkedIn account because I read somewhere that it was an additional option for promoting my books. The very first person who messaged me seemed quite genuine. She even pointed me to her books page on Amazon. (I wasn't impressed, but...) I'm not someone who wants to interact with strangers online, but I'm also not rude, so sure, we could chit-chat for a bit; no harm. 

It took about three interactions before (supposedly) she hit me with:

No, I wasn't interested in hiring a publicist, but again, not wanting to appear rude, I replied that it was definitely something worth checking into. So, of course "she" gave me his name and a link to his profile. When I didn't respond affirmatively, she messaged me again:

Okay, I was done. I was annoyed by her rudeness, not knowing it was likely someone impersonating her. Who knows? Someone might be messaging other people using my name.

I get multiple LinkedIn connection requests every day. Once I accept someone, I immediately get a message from them. I never open any of them. I'm sure there are probably some real authors in the bunch, who joined for the same reason I did, but I won't take any chances. The real authors can think I'm rude; I don't care.

So, yes, my mindset now is "don't trust anyone". When you think about it, what author wants to discuss writing, except on writers' forums? A messaging app really isn't an author's method of choice.

Naivete is dangerous. I never sought to educate myself because frankly, no scammer had ever bothered with me. Maybe it took a long time for them to get to the "T's" on their lists. 

But now that I'm aware, I won't hesitate to expose them here. 

Come on, scammers ~ hit me up! Don't you want to be famous?