Fool Me Once...

I haven't gotten a good scam email in a while. I was worried the scammers had forgotten about me!

Unfortunately, for the new guy, his modus operandi is the same as the "literary agent" who wanted to turn my novella into a movie. (Did you know that literary agents are also movie producers?)

My new scammer is really famous. He even supplied his Wikipedia page to prove it. Lemme tell ya, I was impressed!

From: Michael Levine <MichaelL@BoundlessMediaUSA.com>
Date: On Friday, July 11th, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Subject: Can We Discuss, April?
To:
CC: Deborah W. <deborahw@BoundlessMediaUSA.com>

Dear April,

Last week, your name and Running From Herself came up in a staff meeting...

It was the strong opinion of our award-winning Branding / P.R. firm that you are

entitled to and would benefit from a significantly greater visibility in the modern world.

We have a new low-cost, high-impact plan that I sense might be perfect for you. Here is our Wikipedia page for your review:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Levine_(publicist)

Can we arrange a convenient time to discuss this?

Warmly,

P.S. Through extensive research, I came across your profile and presented it to our team. We'd love to raise your visibility and credibility for Running From Herself. It is intriguing, and we're here to help you get the word out!

Can we discuss this further, April?

 

As you will note from Michael's Wikipedia page, he has represented the best of the best: Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, and one of my all-time favorites, George Carlin. Why he's now trawling LinkedIn for business is beyond me. It really seems like a step down. And frankly, he's surely made enough money to be able to rest on his laurels. But no! Publicity is Michael's life! What would he do all day if he retired? Walk around his property and berate the gardener? Sure, that's fun for a while, but not as much fun as getting emergency calls from Michael Jackson! Action is where it's at, baby! Give Mister Levine a good scandal and his neurons start tingling!

Naturally, I checked out Boundless Media USA's website, which he was nice enough to provide, just to prove his bona fides, you know. The site doesn't look obviously scammy, although why the "Meet Our Team" page shows AI-generated images is puzzling, but the intent might just be to add a "fun" element to the client experience. 🙄Also notable is that there is no phone number listed, only a Jotform-designed contact form (I have a Jotform contact form. It's free!). I would think that a nationally recognized PR firm would have a receptionist, at least, to answer the constantly ringing phone. And since he eagerly gave me his contact number, why not have it posted on his website, too? 

I've seen my share of sloppy, typo-filled sites, generally slapped together by foreign scam artists, but all things considered, this one is passable. The elements I mentioned are enough to convince me it's illegitimate, however.

Next, I decided to check out Michael's phone number. Now, this is weird ~ I know we live in a new age, in which people change their gender at the drop of a hat, but a 71-year-old guy really should have settled that question long before now.

Who Owns The Phone Number (310)396-6090

Mitzi Runyan 

Los Angeles, CA

AKA: Alias, Nicknames, alternate spellings, married and/or maiden names for Mitzi Runyan in Los Angeles, CA.

Mitzi Runyan • Mitzi J Runyan • Mitzi Jo Cole Runyan • Mitzi R Levine • Michael M Levine • Michael S Levine Sr • Michael Levine Sr • Michael J Levine

Of course, unlike the renowned movie producer who contacted me a while back, this time I'm not going to be the recipient of vast riches. They want me to pay them...for "publicity". That's disappointing. I mean, if you're going to put your industry reputation on the line for an unknown author who's only sold fourteen copies of her book, you should be willing to work pro bono. Michael's website FAQ's do say that the firm does charity work, after all. What better example of someone needing charity than me? Seriously, Michael...

To: Michael Levine

Wow, thank you! Can you tell me what it was about my book that caught your attention? I've not gotten much traction with the novel, so this comes as quite a surprise! Can you give me some detail that's not included in the blurb to give me a clue as to why you have such a high opinion of it?

Thanks!

Yes, I gave myself away by writing "detail that's not in the blurb", but I didn't want to bother with getting a verbatim recitation of my blurb back. (I really didn't want to bother with this at all, but it's the principle of the thing.)

So, what does one look for when getting solicitations like this? Everything. You simply can't just click on the links provided in the email. I can give you a link, too. That doesn't mean anything. Here's one: J.K. Rowling. That's me! I'm J.K. Rowling! 

I believe the best indicator is the phone number. That's what the scammer wants ~ for you to call them. How else can they con you out of your money? They always provide a phone number. That's Scam 101. They're anxiously waiting to give you the big spiel. FastPeopleSearch is what I used. They're one of the few that didn't ask for money before spilling the information.

From what I've gathered from doing a quick Google search, the real Michael Levine seems to now be retired. He did have a business, which he sold to someone else in 2011. So, probably no staff meetings are occurring ~ unless you count the ones he's having with his cat(s).

I know, I know; I keep repeating this, but anyone who cold contacts you is not legit. Legitimate, successful operations let customers come to them.

I'll never hear back from Michael. He (or rather, Mitzi) knows I'm on to him/her/them. But best wishes, Michael Mitzi on your gender reassignment surgery.