I’ve basically shutdown this blog, but I’m coming back to alert everyone to a bit of a situation I’ve been dealing with.
Thanks to two people who reached out to me, I’ve discovered that at least one scammer (perhaps two, but I think they’re the same person) is using fake testimonials claiming to be from me to sell their editorial services (even their services are likely a scam). They set up a fake X profile pretending to be me, they have contacted authors on various social media accounts and used my name to make themselves appear legit, have a testimonial claiming to be me on their website, and even provided AI generated responses claiming to say how nice it was to work with me.
I found out about this scammer thanks to two different people who reached out to me directly. They had been contacted by this scammer offering their editorial services, and these two people did their due diligence and contacted me, asking if I really had worked with this “editor” since the “editor” was giving off bad vibes. A good lesson for all authors and prospective authors out there: thoroughly vet your editors. Contact authors they’ve claimed to work with directly, preferably via email from the author’s website to make sure you are talking to the actual author (if anyone had/has contacted me through the X profile the scammer provided, they would have been talking to the scammer, not me).
This is the fake testimonial from their website (I’m not going to provide the link. Needless to say, the website itself is terribly sketchy):
I was also provided with a screenshot of this conversation that one of the two people who discovered the scammer sent to me (used by permission). After we had determined what the scammer was up to, this person reached out to the editor, curious as to what kind of response he would get. This likely AI generated response is what the scammer sent:
I have NOT worked with this person (Layla or David or Literary Curator or whoever they claim to be). Please do NOT use their services. Please let me know if you are contacted by someone who claims to have worked with me.
It is incredibly maddening and frustrating to have to deal with this junk. Someone is scamming people using my name, and that isn’t okay.
I’ve managed to get the fake X profile taken down. I’ve reported their website as abuse, and I’m looking into other options if that doesn’t work.
Sadly, it likely won’t make this scammer go away entirely. Even if I can get them to stop using my name, they will likely come back, stealing some other author’s name and reputation to make themselves appear legit.
Be careful of working with anyone who cold-contacts you online. Odds are, they are some kind of scammer. Always follow up directly if an editor claims to have worked with an author. Do your due diligence.
I appreciate your prayers as I deal with this headache.
Tricia Mingerink 