Episode 37: BEWARE! Fake "Services" Offered to Authors by Scammers

In this episode, Angela and Brian go over the latest “services” that international scammers have dreamed up to suck authors’ bank accounts dry. They will even tell you that not buying some of these services could land you in jail! Don’t be taken in by these fraudsters! No longer is it simply offering “full publishing services” for rock-bottom, unbelievable prices (the “publisher” then disappears with your money). No, they’ve taken their criminal activities to a whole new level! Now, once they reel you in as a “client,” you will then be offered things like an “international publishing license” or “author insurance” (they’ll tell you it’s illegal to publish a book without those!), fake book-to-movie deals, a “global copyright” (there’s no such thing), premium editing services (by AI or someone who doesn’t speak English), and more completely fake “services” that will never get performed anyway. They will even tell you that they have royalties waiting for you, but that YOU have to pay a processing fee up front to get them! (Of course, the royalty numbers are fake and the author never gets paid.) They’ll also give you a fake purchase order from a large bookstore (on that store’s stolen letterhead), saying YOU need to pay THOUSANDS to print the books up front…but you’ll get paid back later. That’s not how it works, folks, and no copies will get printed anyway!!! We discuss many other creative FAKE services as well. Don’t miss this episode! Please share it with your friends and writing groups. It could save you or someone you care about THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS! Be sure to contact us if you suspect you might be the victim of a publishing scam! https://WritersWeekly.com/podcast https://Publishing.BookLocker.com