How to Spot Scams Targeting Authors
Is that unsolicited email you just received in your inbox offering marketing help, a book club feature, a movie adaptation, etc. legitimate? Not a chance. These emails are scams aimed at stealing author’s credit card or bank information at worst, or taking their money and offering nothing in return at best. Spotting scams becomes easy with some practice. The following are real examples that were emailed to me – to an email address that isn’t posted on my website or anywhere else publicly. (Clue number one it’s a scam.)
Please do not attempt to contact any of these scammers. I’ve edited the email addresses anyway, just in case.
Scam 1
Brenda Sutton <brendasuttonXXX@gmail.com>
Hello, I hope you’re doing well.
My name is Brenda from Wordsmiths & Writers. I recently came across your book while reviewing titles gaining attention within our reader community, and I wanted to reach out personally.
We occasionally feature a small number of authors as our Book of the Week, introducing their work to a broader audience of readers and industry professionals. Your book stood out as something that could be a strong fit.
For each featured author, we set up a simple profile to keep their work visible within our network beyond the feature itself. There is a one-time $25 setup for this, which covers profile activation and continued visibility.
We keep the number of features limited to ensure each book receives proper attention.
If you’d like to be considered and secure a spot, feel free to reply and I’ll share the next steps to get your profile set up.
Warm regards,
Brenda
Wordsmiths & Writers
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
Does not address me by name.
Wordsmiths & Writers came up during a web search, but when I went to visit the site, a notice said “This site can’t be reached.”
There’s no LinkedIn listing for the company.
The letter is not signed with the person’s full name nor does she include her title at the company.
Scam 2
Elenah <faith.joyayoXXX@gmail.com>
Hi Melinadruga,
I saw your Amazon profile and was drawn in by your subtle approach - no flash, just a strong presence that stays with you. But then I checked your mobile view 😬. Like most books, Amazon turns your description into a wall of text, stripping away spacing and bolding. It’s not your fault, that’s just how it works.
But what if your page grabbed readers from the start? What if the first thing they saw was a clear, calm line that made them think: _”This is for me.”_
I help authors like you structure their words to breathe on screen. If that idea resonates, reply “Show me” and I’ll send a quick visual using your text. No pitch, no pressure .
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
Does not address me by the correct name.
It’s from Elenah, yet the email address says it’s from Faith.
Some weird punctuation errors.
What exactly is this person even selling? It doesn’t make sense.
The letter is not signed.
No company is mentioned.
Scam 3
Juana R. Chavez <juanarchavezXX@gmail.com>
Hi Melinadruga, I came across your book on Amazon and the cover immediately grabbed my attention. I’d love to read it and share a review on Goodreads would you be able to send me the link?
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
Does not address me by the correct name.
Does not mention a specific book. Even emails that do mention a specific book are still scams. The scammers learn information about the book from your blurb and pretend to have read it. They won’t tell you anything that can’t be found publicly.
If she has my name and my book’s name, then she can find the link on Goodreads herself. Or is she saying she wants the Amazon link? But if she found the book on Amazon…
The letter is not signed.
Scam 4
Honour Sinclair <honoursinclairX@gmail.com>
Most authors invest heavily in marketing yet overlook one element that directly strengthens credibility, media appeal, and long-term positioning: third-party recognition.
When awards are approached randomly, they produce little impact. When filtered strategically by category precision, judging patterns, competition level, and timing, they function as authority infrastructure.
I am currently onboarding a limited number of titles for the upcoming award cycle and only move forward where there is credible competitive alignment.
If your goal is to strengthen positioning beyond standard promotion, I can outline what strategic placement would realistically look like and whether your book qualifies for this cycle.
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
Does not address me by name.
A lot of PR/marketing speak that says a lot of nothing.
Onboarding a limited number of titles for the upcoming award cycle? What is that even supposed to mean?
No company name listed.
The letter is not signed.
Scam 5
Eben Digital <ebenezerebenezerXXX@gmail.com>
Hi Melinadruga
I’m contacting you regarding the adaptation rights to your book.
We are reviewing titles for potential screen development and would like to know if your rights are currently represented or available.
If available, I’d be glad to explain our process and explore possible collaboration.
Please advise.
Sincerely,
EBEN
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
Does not address me by the correct name.
Does not mention which book.
Eben Digital is a company based in Nigeria, but according to its Facebook page (which hasn’t been updated since 2024), the company has a business email address.
There also is a contractor on Fiverr with this name, but he sells digital marketing services.
The phrasing makes it appear as if I had submitted my book for consideration. I hadn’t.
Legitimate film companies don’t contact you directly.
Scam 6:
Golddess <golddessXX@gmail.com>
Hello
I know your inbox is a busy place, so I’ll get straight to the point. This isn’t just a pitch, it’s a visibility gap I noticed regarding your book.
While you’re likely moving it on Amazon, I noticed your book isn’t currently optimized in the global WorldCat database. Most authors don’t realize that without this, you’re ‘invisible’ to the institutional world.
I specialize in Institutional Book Positioning, helping authors move from ‘just a product’ to a ‘collected work.’ This is the secret sauce for:
Award Eligibility (Holdings are often a requirement).
High-Authority SEO that retail sites can’t give you.
Global Discoverability for libraries and researchers.
I’m currently running a Library Readiness Bundle where I handle your WorldCat indexing and personally pitch your work to library systems.
Are you interested in getting your book onto the global map this week?
Best,
Mercy
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
The letter is signed Mercy. This name doesn’t match the email address.
Does not address me by name.
Does not mention a specific book.
Authors must contact an OCLC member library to request the cataloging of their work. This isn’t handled by third party companies.
Scam 7:
Mead Kendrra <meadcarolinaX@gmail.com>
Hello!
How are you doing?
Sorry to come into your DM, but I noticed some of your book has been out for a bit now.
I wanted to ask, do you have a Post-Launch strategy in place to keep the momentum going, or are you mostly focusing on your next project?
The reason I ask is that many authors see their sales drop off after the first few weeks. I use Mailchimp to run “Feature Spotlights” that act as a second wave of promotion, it pushes the book directly into readers’ inboxes and keeps it ranking on Google permanently.
I’m looking for one title to feature this March. If you want to keep in front of new readers, let me know and we can see if it’s a fit.
Best,
Russell Olivia
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
Letter’s signature doesn’t match the email address or the “From” field.
Does not address me by name.
Only “some” of my book is available?
Full of grammatical mistakes.
Does not include a company name.
Scam 8:
Adeniran Segun<adeniran.segun.orgXXX@gmail.com>
--
Hi,
I came across your work and was really impressed by your storytelling, it feels like it could work beautifully on screen.
I’m part of a team looking at interesting stories for the 2026 season, and we often chat with writers about projects that could appeal to producers.
If you have a few minutes this week, I’d love to have a quick conversation to see how your work might fit into that.
Looking forward to your thoughts,
Warm regards,
How to tell it’s a scam:
Comes from a Gmail address instead of a business address.
Does not address me by name.
Does not mention a specific book.
No company name. As previously stated, a movie studio would not contact an author this way.
Grammatically incorrect and the “--” at the beginning was in the message.
The letter is not signed.
Almost word-for-word from my emails. They use "ambergrosjeanwrite" for my name. I see that, and I hit the delete button so fast, I could probably break that button lol. A lot of them are just a few lines, no header, no sign of who wrote it, etc. I'm glad I'm not the only one, but I wish these people would find something else to do instead of filling our inboxes with trash.