#writing scam

[mama-qwerty]

A friend of mine was just hit with one of these (thankfully they didn't lose any money) and it occurred to me that not everyone may know about this scam that's going around because it doesn't immediately seem scammy.

It's hitting a lot of writers--I've gotten them both on FFnet and ao3--where you'll get a comment that goes something like "I really enjoyed [fic title] and would love to enhance it with some art! Contact me if this is something you're interested in!" or something to that effect.

Basically the person claims to love your story, and wants to draw something for it. Sounds good, right?

Only they don't. They likely didn't even read it. They want to charge you a lot of money for something that--if it exists at all--is likely cheap ai crap.

Do not fall for it. Delete on sight. Report if you can.

Pass it around and make sure all your writer friends know not to engage with these scammers.

[plantcrazy]

Because apparently we needed a part 2 to this shit >:\

Brand-new account, the comment has already been deleted by... idk who, but I've still got the notification in my emails.

Can I get some normal comments, please? I get few enough as it is, and I'm getting a little fed up getting excited to see a comment, only to find it's some disguising lowlife.

⚠️ NEW SCAMMERS, BEWARE! ⚠️

Never seen this one before.

I got a nice message on one of my really old fanfics over on Fanfiction.com asking for permission to make fan art, and then I get this back when they contact me over here.

I don't know what to be more upset about. The fake compliments of my story, or the fact they're using a tactic this cruel to try to scam people with now.

[sharksfrommars]

in the Better World, Stan faked his death and moved to Argentina. He takes Ford’s journal, he reads it on days he gets lonely. But he lives. Because a long, long time ago, he promised his brother that they’d die at exactly the same time, fighting monsters. And even if Stan still feels the brand on his shoulder sting with shattered dreams, he can’t bring himself to die without his brother.

so Argentina it is. Stan deals with his issues in the least healthy way possible. He ends up in rehab about 5 times. He lives by the sea, and goes fishing, learns to scuba dive. He dates a lot, gets burned a lot, and ends up building a small circle of friends. And he slowly builds his life back up. Stanley Pines is dead, but Stan still finds a way to live.

Ford thinks Stan is dead. He only found out about the car crash in ‘85, when he finally called his mother. Two years, for two whole years, Ford didn’t realise his twin was dead. They didn’t find a journal in the car, but it was pretty burnt up from a gasoline explosion. The only thing that identified Stan was his teeth, a plethora of fake ids, and a photo of Stan and Ford boxing, back in the 60s.

Ford feels like it was his fault somehow. He and McGucket run the institute of Oddology. They become rich and famous, people respect him. But Ford still feels the weight of the photos he kept in his pocket, of the last things he ever said to his brother before he died.

[periwinklecosma]

update: writing-prompt-s continues to double down on painting 90-ghost as an unreliable scammer

after this post i made about writing-prompt-s being a complete and total dickweed started spreading around, i honestly thought i'd be done with them for the time being, but someone in the reblogs of that post called something to my attention, and i'm completely and utterly disgusted. i don't care anymore at this point, i just don't want ANYTHING related to writing-prompt-s and their racism towards palestinians passing under the radar, hence this new post. please, if you remember reblogging the first post, reblog this one too, because i think this is an important follow-up. and if you somehow missed all of this until now and you have no idea what this is about, the post i linked explains pretty much all you need to know because i'm not gonna bother going over old info right now.

i thought writing-prompt-s quietly deleting their shitty racist post was a real coward move but i figured that they wouldn't do anything other than pretend like they never said anything and hope that this all blows over for them eventually. but apparently they can't stfu because, in the wake of everyone pointing out to them that 90-ghost aka ahmed has had tumblr for 12 years, they made this post:

i'm completely speechless that even in the face of intense backlash and overwhelming evidence to the contrary that they'd rather double down on attacking ahmed's identity than admit to being wrong. a few of the other dumbasses who accused palestinians of being scammers, while never exactly apologizing, at least backtracked on what they said and went "okay well maybe some of them are legit," but this cunt can't even do that. and what's more, they're doing it in this weird underhanded way where people who aren't in the know (and even some who are) wouldn't understand what they're trying to do here. you know, because they're a little bitch who can't even be open about the fact that they're a virulent racist, so they choose to only express it using subtle tactics.

anyway the screenshotted post is in the wayback machine already in case writing-prompt-s chooses to do the expected thing and delete it in the same way they deleted their initial post.

seriously, we need to wreck this guy.

[space-blue]

Must read. Here' s a snippet to motivate you :

For the still-not-convinced: If you need an AI to come up with ideas for you, you don’t even belong in the fucking room, because ‘coming up with ideas’ is literally the most basic level skill to have. A basketball player who can’t dribble doesn’t belong in the NBA, so why the fuck do you think you deserve a spot on my writing team if you need a computer to do what any goddamn fucking eight year old can do? Take the fucking hint, you fucking fraud: if you need AI to do the most basic tasks required of you as a writer, then you aren’t employable as a writer. Period. Fuck you. You’re a waste of everyone’s time.

[rachaellawrites]

Alert on a Fake Author account

I'll start by saying I have no idea what this fake account's goals or motives are. They haven't asked for any personal info or done anything suspicious (to my knowledge) outside of impersonating an author, but that alone is alarming enough that I want to alert others.

I thought this was a bit of a strange way to open a conversation, given the issues with spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and that it's so vague. "But," I thought, "maybe this is a newbie author, or someone who's new to Tumblr, or both." So I checked their profile to see what they've been sharing and posting.

The answer is nothing. This account has exactly one original post and nothing else. That original post is also a little odd - there’s hashtags in the body of the post and a copy-pasted link instead of one inserted into the text. But that could all be chalked up to someone being unfamiliar with how Tumblr works.

What caught my attention more was the banner, profile picture, and blog title.

This isn't a new author - they have at least three books published. Add in the strange cropping on the profile picture and the blog title having an underscore in it when even the URL doesn't and something just felt strange.

So I did some Googling, and I found Sarah Goodwin's Instagram.

Confirmation: the Sarah Goodwin on Tumblr is fake.

Again, I don’t know what this person wants or why they felt motivated to impersonate this author, but it's cause for concern and reason enough not to interact with their account.

Be aware that this account has also created a Community, which I would similarly advise avoiding to be on the safe side.

Spread the word.

[gothamite-rambler]

Barbara: So, you spent real money on a crypto coin called Crispy with a K, right? And it turned out to be a scam?

Garfield (Beast Boy): That’s the gist of it. I know it was a dumb decision. My friend kept telling me to get in while it was fresh, he showed me his net worth and I found out later it's case he's great scammer. I let easy money get to my head. I just need help getting my money back.

Barbara (stammering, flabbergasted): I… you’re talking about five hundred dollars here. I—

Kori (stirring her coffee): Be nice.

Barbara (looking at the ceiling as if to pray to God): I’m finding it.

A few seconds passed as Barbara silently removed her glasses and shook her head, exuding the disappointment of a frustrated mother.

Kori: It takes you that long to find it out?

Barbara: It does, it does.

Garfield whimpered, his head drooping in shame.

Kori: Go easy on him. Dick already laughed at him for five minutes straight.

Barbara: Yeah, knowing a guy who can manage his money puts this whole situation into sharper focus.

Kori: That makes sense.

[popcornkwantum]

"Jerry is Lincoln's and Scary's biological son, which means teen pregnancy" or "Jerry is adopted"

NO.

It's Scam Likely again

What's the one good thing that Grant and Marco got out of Scams shitty wedding gift? Their son Lincoln. So Scam has learned that the best gift at a wedding is giving someone a child of course

[dangerpronebuddie]

Several Sentences Sunday!!

Tagged by @daffi-990 @tizniz @spotsandsocks @hippolotamus who all shared WONDERFUL stuff y'all should absolutely show some love! 🩷🩷

Been a while! I haven't had the beans for my wips lately but I did actually work on some this week 🥳! Have some Buck and Chris from my BTHB: tricked/ scammed:

“I didn't want to spoil this, but… Your dad was going to see you.” Chris doesn't say anything for long enough that Buck thinks maybe he hung up on him. But then there's the quietest “really?” “Yeah,” Buck says softly. “Why now?” Chris huffs, covering the hurt with frustration. “He doesn't want the gap between you growing any more than it already has,” Buck says. “That's not my fault.” No, but I'm starting to think it might be Helena's, he doesn't say. “I know. And so does your dad,” he says instead. “He wants to talk. In person this time; just the two of you.” Chris lets out a sigh that sounds half like a groan. “We've talked. It's all the same. He's sorry, he wants me to come home... What about what I want?” Buck swallows around the lump in his throat. “What do you want, Chris?”

(I know it's super late, but I'm tagging y'all anyway 🥰)

@lover-of-mine @kitteneddiediaz

@ronordmann @steadfastsaturnsrings @inell @exhuastedpigeon

@thekristen999 @diazheartsbuckley @wildlife4life @misshiss727 @rainbow-nerdss @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove

@tidesreach @disasterbuck @lonelychicago @epicbuddieficrecs

@lunarspark-cos @idealuk @slowlyfoggydestiny @mourningeddiesfagstache @playinginthunderstorms @elvensorceress

@lin27 @jshadow01 @sofa-king-lame @thegeekcompanion @emilybahu @lemotmo @awolfnamed-nyx @maraskywalkers @joannte

@kaseysgirl86-blog @darkrose6578 @totallynotagoraphobic @dandelioncasey @bibuckbuckgoose @whatsgoodinthehood22 @icebergeddie

@lady-elaine @buckley-diaz-rules @buddiedaydreamer911 @monroemary @pirate-hunter @snowviolettwhite @hermoineindisguise

@nonspeakingkiku @eddiedisasterdiaz @drunkandsupportiveeddie @gnoeltop @keynb @cassi-brooks @-syrup-sue @punkrock00 @shannonhutchins @aroqueerfandoms @unlifeira @marissaleec @kissyboytroye

@lyricfulloflight @charlzie-ghost @hypersensitivitywitch @kindlingtotheflames @wallywise @zerokrox-blog @hawaiianlove808 @retromodgirl @allygateobeanz @savlikesbluengreen and anyone else who's interested! 🥰🩷

[heywriters]

yeah, don't trust asks like this

intentionally vague—they don't name the story; what does "on fanfic" mean; asking permission to "share an idea" when they could just say it is bait

brand new account, only three posts with copy/paste captions

their socials are filled with examples of "their" art in wildly differing styles which implies AI or direct art theft (two pieces at least have the tells of AI)

The ultimate goal is likely to make you to pay them for a commission of your OC or favorite fan character, and IF they actually send you a picture ever, it will be stolen/AI.

Even if this was a legitimate artist, this would still be the wrong way to get commissions.

---

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[grandapplewit]

AU where Shen Yuan, soon after Binghe falls into the Abyss, loses all his memories of Shen Qingqiu. He assumes that he transmigrated into some no name NPC, and enjoys his life as a rogue cultivator completely oblivious to the Heavenly Demon and multiple Peak Lord’s tearing the world apart trying to find him.

[shmothman]

Internet Safety

(Casper x reader, 500 words, post-ending 3, T for language)

“Casper. I need you to listen to me very carefully right now.”

You turn your phone around to face him, and he looks at you confused before reading aloud: “‘Immediate action required for your bank account.’” His brows knit as he looks up at you. “That sounds serious, are you in some kind of trouble?”

“No, no. Look at who it’s sent from.”

He reads the (incredibly phony-sounding) email address back to you, and then looks at you again, still confused.

You point at it. “This is what a scam text looks like.”

Casper narrows his eyes. He looks back at the text, then looks back at you. “But… it says your immediate action is required. Isn’t your bank account very important?”

You sigh. “It’s a lie, babe. They want me to click that link and put in my bank password. They���ll take that password to hack into my actual bank account, and then they’ll steal all my money.”

He still seems unconvinced. “But… what if you’re wrong?”

“You really are a scammer’s wet dream, you know that?”

He bristles slightly. “I do not want to risk not taking immediate action on my bank account.”

That gives you pause. “Wait, do they have banks in the underworld?”

“Yes? How do you think we deal with money?”

“Even in the underworld you have to deal with capitalism?” Honestly, you thought that his society was better than yours at that kind of thing. Though, maybe the whole ‘he was created for one purpose and that purpose is his job’ thing should’ve tipped you off. The billionaires of the mortal realm would love that shit. “Fuck, next you’re gonna tell me there’s capitalism in the afterlife, too.”

He shrugs. “I do not know. It is possible.”

“Please don’t say that to me. Anyway. If you’re gonna live in the mortal world for now, you’re gonna need to be able to tell what a scam looks like.”

“As far as I can tell, I cannot have a bank account here without an ID. Which, as I am not a citizen of this world, I do not have.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know I’m your sugar daddy from here on out. But there’s still plenty of stuff I want to help you not fall for. Like the fucking virus you gave my computer last week.”

He frowns. “It said I had won a prize.”

“Also, what if we have to forge some documents for you and get you an ID and bank account?”

There’s a hint of a smile on his face. “Are you looking to break as many of your world’s rules as I have mine? It will be much harder for us if we both have to go on the run.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose and heave an exaggerated sigh. “Point taken. Just. Please. If you get any texts, emails, or popups like this… come to me before you click anything, okay? The geek squad guys think I’m an idiot.”

“It is not—“

“So I told them that my idiot boyfriend is the one who clicked the link.”

He pouts, and it’s very, very cute. “Very well.”

[atomicjellyb3an]

To anyone else writing on ao3, be careful of scammers and don’t hand out any personal information!

I looked up their discord on tumblr and found a few other people who had received the same comment word for word. Be sure to block them

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

Bait and Switch. || Scammer!Reader x Victim!Ghost

Rating: M Words: 2.6K~ Pairing: scammer!Reader x victim(but not really)!Ghost CW: phone scams/conning (reader never actually cons him), financial issues?, threats (Simon threatens to find reader), degradation?. other tags: crack, OOC Simon., you/your pronouns (gn!reader but uses a female fake name), obviously fake names (pun/funny), lying, joking, the weirdest meet cute? a/n: this started out as a joke/crack and turned serious/dark at the end? idk how i did this.

Simon Riley would say that being legally dead is the best thing to have happened to him and that's because it allowed him to escape a bunch of responsibilities that regular men have to uphold.

He gets paid covertly, in full, and does not have to pay taxes on his income.

He rented a flat from a sweet ol' lady, who didn't run a background check or ask for a copy of his birth certificate (terrible choice on her part), and he pays her by dropping an envelope of cash in her mailbox on the 1st of every of the month.

He not only is old enough to drink but also sounds and looks old enough as well, which means he doesn't need I.D. to buy alcohol (not that any shops or bars really care enough to check).

He doesn't have a credit card. Or a debit card for that matter. Hell, he doesn't even have a bank account, so he doesn't have to pay maintenance fees.

He doesn't have a smartphone. And up until recently he only had a pager. In fact, the only reason he doesn't have a pager anymore is because it got shot in the crossfire during a mission... so Price forced him to get a jitterbug.

In short... Simon Riley can escape a lot of things (death, taxes, Philip Graves...). But telemarketers and phone scammers are not one of those things.

That's how, on a boring Wednesday afternoon, his new phone ends up ringing, like it had been doing multiple times a week for the last four weeks.

Telemarketers.

He never got telemarketers on his pager.

He hated telemarketers.

But that didn't mean he blocked them-

"What?" He answered as soon as he picked up the phone.

An automated voice came over the call, one of those typical Siri-esque robot voices, delivering a prepared speech: "Congratulations! You've won a free cruise to the Bahamas! To claim your prize, press 1."

Oh, now, this was different. He didn't need to hear more to know it was a scam call. But that didn't mean he was going to hang up.

So Simon pressed key 1, which caused a beep to sound over the call.

"Thank you!" The automated voice continued. "We are now connecting you to a live operator to claim your prize!"

Barely a millisecond went by before you took over the call. "Good afternoon, this is Stella Gormoni with Blissful Blessings Inc.! Who am I speaking with?"

As stereotypical as it is, Simon had expected a different voice on the other end of the line... maybe from a scammer in a foreign country who'd speak heavily-accented English...

But instead, he got a sweet and professional sounding person... It almost made him second-guess the scam that was being pulled on him.

His mind moved quick at coming up with a fake name. Not just a fake one, but a pun one too. "Wanh'a, first name Aiden." He replied, his gruff voice reverberating on the call.

"And how do you spell that?" You asked him politely, and, through your headset, he could hear your keyboard keys clacking in the background.

"That's A-I-D-E-N." He replied as he entered his kitchen, spelling his first, as if that was somehow what was causing you difficulty.

"Uh-huh!" You acknowledged in a peppy tone. "And... your surname?" You asked him.

"W-A-N-H-'-A." He continued spelling as he crossed the small kitchen, hearing your fingers tapping away at your keyboard in his ear.

For a moment, you didn't talk, as if stunned into silence. Had you just picked up on the fact he was trolling you by giving you a name that, phonetically, sounded like 'I Don't Wanna'? Probably. But you hadn't hung up yet.

"Well, congratulations, Mr. Wanh'a, you just won an all-inclusive, two-week long cruise to the Bahamas!" Your peppy tone made him bite his lip to contain a laugh. Well, at least you were dedicated in continuing the scam. "How are you feeling?"

"Very well, and yourself?" Simon asked casually as he leaned himself against the door of his refrigerator, leaning down to look inside and find a snack.

"I'm doing very well, thank you, sir." You replied in a cheerful tone. "So, let's process the information so we can get you your prize, shall we?" You announced in a polite tone.

"Go right on ahead, sweet'eart." He murmured as he grabbed a yogurt and closed the fridge with his hip, sitting at the table and peeling open the lid.

"Well, for us to start, I'm going to need your-"

"Actually, I have a question, before we start." Simon interrupted your speech, cutting off your silver-tongued lies.

You went silent for just a moment before you replied with a sweet little: "Of course, what can I help you with, Mr. Wanh'a?"

"I want to know how exactly I signed up to receive this prize." Simon replied before he placed a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth.

He was trying to accomplish two things by doing this: 1) throw you off your game and make you stammer and stutter, and 2) see how long it took for you to get annoyed, and hang up on him.

"Well, that's what I was going to explain, you see-" You replied, a smile behind your voice, but his trained ears could pick up the slight frustration. It made Simon smile.

"Oh, then, I'm sorry for interrupting you, sweet'art, please go ahead." He replied and gestured with his spoon, as if giving you the stage, unnecessarily so, because you were not there to watch it.

"As I was saying... You were entered automatically into the draw by buying a cereal box of any Kellog's cereal at Tesco. I'm sure you saw a 'Win a free cruise!' sticker on yours?" You asked in a professional and sickly-sweet tone.

He could see right through your scam, he had already done that. You name a famous brand, one people trust, to trick naive or impressionable ones into believing you...

Normal people would tell you they no longer have the cereal box, many of them naive enough to believe your scam despite the fact they hadn't even bought one of those boxes in the first place...

Next, you'd ask for the card used to make the purchase, and some people were dumb enough to read their number aloud to you...

Oh, how he hated scammers. Even more than telemarketers.

"I do remember seeing something like that..." He murmured, his voice deepening, before he popped another spoonful of yogurt past his lips, loudly smacking them right against the receiver of his jitterbug.

"Well, all I need is for you to get the box and read me the code that's imprinted on the inside of the flap!" You announced.

"Well, you see, I would, sweet'art... But my sight isn't so good anymore..." Simon replied. "I'm getting up there in age, you know?" He continued eating his yogurt.

"I understand, sir." You replied. "I'm sorry to hear that. One of my cousins also started losing his vision pretty early." You announced.

Huh.

There was no hint of forced sympathy in your voice.

No, you were being genuine. That was a real story of your life you were telling him...

But you had picked up on the fact he was trolling you, right? So why were you-

"Good thing though, about this system of ours, is that you can just confirm your credit card details so we can double check them and get you that prize!" You had, your tone right back to the scamming silver-tongue you had held until now.

Secretly, Simon had to admit that he admired your commitment to the bit. He couldn't help but smile a bit, amused.

"Oh, of course. Let me just set you down while I get my card." Simon replied and got up, finishing his yogurt and tossing out the plastic container, popping the spoon into the sink, and, after setting down his phone, he walked out of the room.

Simon glanced down at his wrist watch, noting the time on it, then, approached his bedroom door, grabbing his over-the-door pull-up bars, and began doing a quick set, leaving you to 'wait' for him in the kitchen.

After a few sets, he waltzed back into the kitchen and grabbed his phone again. "You still there, da'lin'?" He beckoned in a gruff tone.

You sighed, your politeness sounding slightly more forced. He had kept you waiting for over ten minutes after all. "Yes, sir, I am. Did you get your card, Mr. Wanh'a?"

"Oh, please, enough of this 'sir' thing, Mr. Wanh'a was my mother." He replied, then went silent for just a beat, almost like he could hear your frustration sizzling on he other end.

He was being more and more obvious with his trolling... And it pleased him immensely to imagine a parasite like you seething on the other end of the line, reaching your wits' end.

"You can just call me 'Ai', it's what my friends call me." Simon continued, a smirk forming on his lips. "And we're friends now, right? You're giving me a cruise and everythin'." He added, his tone just as charismatic and peppy as his had been.

"I guess we are!" You replied, returning the overly cheery tone. "So, 'Ai Wanh'a', then?" You asked, but he could hear the mix of frustration and amusement behind your voice.

"Yeah? What d'you want, babygirl?" Simon asked, unable to resist making a more impish remark. And, unfortunately, it had the desired result. It genuinely caused your brain to blue-screen for a moment.

Sure, you'd experienced plenty of people getting angry at you when you attempt to scam them, or even trolling you the same way this bloke was doing but...

It was definitely a first, to have someone flirt with you, even if it was still part of his trolling attempt.

"Your... credit card details?" You ended up adding, your voice still showing the surprise and light meekness that came from him catching you off-guard.

"Oh, of course. Are you ready? It's a very complex number." He replied.

"Ready when you are." You added as you steeled yourself for another smartass response or run around from him.

"Here it is: 1234-5678-9987-6543." He replied, reciting the numbers 1-9 in order and then backward. "And the three digits on the back are: 210."

Oh, he was so fucking annoying! He didn't get to troll you, even if it was pretty amusing of him to do so, then flirt with you, then go back to trolling.

"Sir, if you're not interested in the cruise, just say so. There's no need for this mockery." You replied, your tone serious and professional though you were definitely seething on the inside.

Simon could tell. And he reveled in it. "Oh, but I am interested!" He replied with a smirk behind his voice. "In fact, I want to know more. Will my cabin in the cruise have an ocean view?"

Simon heard you inhale aggressively on the other side of the line, steeling yourself not to hang up on him, or down right berating him on the phone. "Yes, Ai, of course!" He heard your fake cheeriness through your clenched teeth. "It'll be a luxury cabin, actually. Isn't that great?"

"No, it's not that great, actually. I get very seasick, you see?" Simon murmured. "Not to mention, ever since my pet goldfish died, I've just never been able to look at the ocean the same..." He added in a forced pitiful tone.

You went quiet again on the other side and Simon knew he had finally worn you out. He waited to hear the clicking sound of the call falling, but, instead, he just heard you let out a sigh.

"You're very frustrating." You murmured.

"Oh, my, is this how you speak to all your prize winners?" Simon gasped dramatically.

"Shut up... You didn't have to be a smartass, you know?!" You scolded him, as if you had any ground to stand on.

"No, I fear I did, sweet'art." Simon replied as he leaned casually against the kitchen counter. "You called me, interrupted my day, and wasted my time with a scam, of all things. I have every right to be a smartass and have some fun with it." He added, a smug tone obvious in the dulcets of his deep voice.

"Okay? You could've just hung up on me?" You were truly grasping at straws to justify your behaviour. It was comical.

Simon laughed dryly. "And waste an opportunity to annoy a parasitic leech like you?" He quipped.

That stunned you into silence for a moment and you couldn't help but pout a bit.

"Not to mention, what you're doing is illegal, you know that righ'? And I'm military, I could get you arrested for this." He added.

"For that, you'd need to know where I am." You retorted, maybe a bit bratilly. "Besides, I knew you were a soldier."

"And how did you know that?"

"You used the NATO phonetic alphabet while spelling 'your' name'." You replied directly. "Nobody spells 'Aiden' as 'Alpha-India-Delta-Echo-November'."

"So you knew I was military and you still went ahead with your little scam attempt? You're not that bright, are you?" He defied you, which earned him a scoff from your end.

"No, I already knew you were trolling me."

"Oh, so you just wanted to waste my time?"

"That's exactly it, Aiden."

"Sounds to me like you're just looking for trouble, da'lin'." He quipped, his voice having lowered to a gruffer tone.

Rolling your eyes, you scoffed. "Am not. I'm just enjoying myself. You're not the only one that can make jokes at people's expenses."

"No, you really are..." He tutted his tongue and shook his head. "Need I remind you you were trying to scam me, and other people?" He added in a tone that sent a shiver down your spine.

"I know what I was doing."

"Yeah? And are you proud of that? Proud of being a conniving little cunt who tries to take people's hard-earned money?" He taunted you.

You didn't reply. Of course you weren't proud. You still had a conscience! But you wouldn't tell him that. He wouldn't get the satisfaction of hearing you apologise.

"I see. You don't like what I'm saying, so you give me the silent treatment, is that it, sweet'art?" He teased. You could hear the smirk behind his words.

"I wonder if you'd still act like this if you had to face me and had to answer for yourself."

Closing your fists tight, you steel yourself again to gain some edge and reply to him. "I guess you're going to keep wondering then. Because it's not happening."

"You know, it's a shame your little computer spat out my phone number for you to call..." He trailed off.

"And why's that?"

"Because instead of anyone else, you got me... And that's just... really bad luck for you. Any other service member, you would've been fine..." He trailed off.

"What, are you some sort of General-Major-Chief thing, super high up the ladder?" You taunted.

Simon simply chuckled dryly on the other side of the line. "No. But I'm definitely the worst person you could've tried to play with."

"Oh, big scary man, what are you gonna do? Gonna come teach me a lesson?" You added, taunting him some more, clearly feeling comfortable behind your laptop, with your smartphone, sitting at home, comfortable and warm, with your pet at your feet. "Oh, I'm so scared!" You added, feigning fear in a dramatic tone.

"Is that a challenge I'm hearing, sweet'art? Inviting me to come pay you a visit?" Simon asked you, his brow cocking, despite the fact you couldn't see it.

You don't know what it was about the way he spoke. The way he said that. The way his voice sounded.

It sent a shiver down your spine, a cold sweat, like he was, for the first time, not joking around anymore.

"No...?" You murmured in reply, feeling your shoulders tensing in an unpleasant way.

"Yeah... That's an invite I'm hearing..." He disregarded what you said and chuckled. "Maybe I'll come pay you a visit then, hey? How does that sound, little leech?"

[spacebar2]

A variety of sketches

(Characters, not creators.)

[holycatsandrabbits]

Where to Find Out About Writing Scams

Writing is a highly emotional process, and publishing perhaps even more so. Whether writers are looking to self-publish or sell to a press, it’s not surprising we get taken in by scammers promising to help us achieve our dreams. Scammers may try to sell marketing or other services that supposedly get an author noticed by big names in the business, or just impersonate a real press or agent.

But we can fight back by educating ourselves. Here are a few places to check before logging into your Paypal.

Writer Beware

The best authority on writing scams. From their website: Writer Beware’s® resources include the Writer Beware® website, which provides warnings about literary schemes and scams, along with information on how writers can recognize and avoid them; the Writer Beware® blog, which covers schemes and scams in real time, as well as publishing industry news and other items of writerly interest; the Writer Beware® Facebook page, which links to writing-related articles, blog posts, and news items, and provides a forum for discussion; and the X (formerly Twitter) feed of Writer Beware® co-founder Victoria Strauss. 

Writers Weekly

A List of Publishers That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Good advice and a constantly updated list by Angela Hoy. Recommended by Writer Beware.

Alliance of Independent Authors

Self-Publishing Services Rated A searchable list with ratings and concerns noted. Recommended by Writer Beware. 

Authors Guild

Publishing Scam Alerts Another well-updated list.

Reddit

r/writers You can check for posts on scams or ask a question of your own.

Scammers are very good at what they do. As writers, we owe it to ourselves and our work to be suspicious (especially of unsolicited emails) and to do our research before sending anyone money for anything.

This article was first published on my writing blog

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