Dodging the Artful Scammer

Warning: This is a rant…

When you receive a post that salutes you with “Hello, Dear!” or “Greetings, Great Author,” or someone gushes with “Hello, Darling Author!” My personal experience has given me a proven best tactic.

My learning began several years ago after I paid for the right to become unsupervised and redeployed a love to write for an audience I’ll probably never see. Actually, my real learning began at the age of eight. My early learning came from exchanging hand-written letters with my Aunt Betty, who lived far from me. She taught third grade. I was a third grader. She taught me when she sent a letter back with third-grade advice and loving encouragement. My original letter was always enclosed with red correction marks, notes in the margins, and a grade. Seriously, she graded my letters. That exchange confirms my writing has been under scrutiny since a young age. Her most significant teaching moment was how she emphasized treasuring what you write because it will be something no one can take from you, and if you choose to write, learn to write correctly.

Thank you, Aunt Betty, for the gift you gave me…her best advice was never given but implied always to write well or not at all. That desire to write well leads me to protect my stories and is the driving force behind not allowing an incompetent organic to misrepresent a story of mine.

As an unsupervised and, at times, undisciplined free-range Writer of Things, I self-published my first novel, “Mirror Mirror,” and appeared on the radar for the first time as a published author. My confession to being published opened the floodgates for experts in global marketing and distribution, promotion experts promising bestseller status, and expert designers of engaging book covers. Some had websites with twenty specialties they provided…yet worked alone with no staff. These scammers came out of the woodwork to do one thing – Sell Something.

Fortunately, for a new author, plenty of help is available. Unfortunately, most of those friend requests on social media to “know you better” are based upon what the purveyors of expertise pursue – the sale of something they have minimal experience delivering. Get proof. What makes it hard for a new author is the aggressively deceptive tactics the slimier scammers are beginning to use, and time is wasted before you can confirm it’s time to launch a favorite exit strategy.

I never accept a friend request until the requestor is vetted; always check the profile before making any decisions. If the profile is empty or locked, with no picture, I deploy a swift two-step expulsion process: DELETE and BLOCK. I suppose you could use a single step of BLOCK, but for some of us, the act of DELETION before blocking is therapeutic.

It gets worse. I’ve found that many scammers have attractive fake profiles, some with an Author status. I’ve coincidentally connected with some of these bogus “authors” and ran the gauntlet of standard dialogue of answering curious questions about my genre, time spent as an author, and favorite authors I follow…all legitimate early questions that someone who cares to establish a relationship on shared experiences. They don’t, and the conversation soon morphs from caring to “know me better” to conspiring to “sell me faster.” Deception like that is the fastest way for a scammer to experience my flawless two-step expulsion with no warning…DELETE & BLOCK.

I realize discovery questions are necessary, but don’t be lazy. Check my profile; most preliminary information is there. Do you say it takes too long to make a little discovery? Hah! Then move on, or we can accelerate the process. Keep doing what you’re doing and experience the scammer two-step sooner rather than later. I treasure my time, too.

I welcome connections from other authors and ask those seeking a shared experience not to be lazy, do some discovery, and avoid looking like a scammer. I’ve probably expulsed one or two for asking what genre I write. It’s on the profile. Vet me, then let’s chat.

This post has likely ruffled some feathers, but if yours are askew, it confirms I’ve hit the right audience for some ruffling. If your feathers are still aligned after reading this post, I hope you found some helpful dodging tactics as you search for effective scammer repellent.

Peace!

G.

Amazon Author Page –  https://amzn.to/3uuONzj

Author Website – Learning by Living – https://learningbyliving.blog