I didn't think this was quite a fit for Bewares & Background checks, and since it pertains mainly to independent publishers I'm posting it here.
Dozens of people in an indie author FB group I'm in have received messages overnight from an "Adriana Lucas" who claims she is trying to download their books for review and is having trouble. They've also said they're seeing this scammer come up a lot in other writers' groups they belong to. I got a scam message from her via my Booksprout ARC this morning. She requests that authors send their MOBI, EPUB and PDF files directly to her email, [email protected]. This would allow her to circumvent the anti-pirating codes that Booksprout and other ARC services add.
Booksprout is now aware of the issue and is investigating.
This scammer also regularly comments on author blogs about "having trouble finding your book" and asks authors to contact her directly. A username she uses on blogs is Lokyygg. Email address is the same.
Here is the message she sent me:
I'm sure the offer to "buy directly" is an attempt to add some patina of credibility. (It would be easier to do a search on Amazon than to privately email an author, I'm sure.)
I hope it goes without saying, but never send your defenseless ebook files to a stranger. Has anybody else heard from this scammer?
Dozens of people in an indie author FB group I'm in have received messages overnight from an "Adriana Lucas" who claims she is trying to download their books for review and is having trouble. They've also said they're seeing this scammer come up a lot in other writers' groups they belong to. I got a scam message from her via my Booksprout ARC this morning. She requests that authors send their MOBI, EPUB and PDF files directly to her email, [email protected]. This would allow her to circumvent the anti-pirating codes that Booksprout and other ARC services add.
Booksprout is now aware of the issue and is investigating.
This scammer also regularly comments on author blogs about "having trouble finding your book" and asks authors to contact her directly. A username she uses on blogs is Lokyygg. Email address is the same.
Here is the message she sent me:
I'm sure the offer to "buy directly" is an attempt to add some patina of credibility. (It would be easier to do a search on Amazon than to privately email an author, I'm sure.)
I hope it goes without saying, but never send your defenseless ebook files to a stranger. Has anybody else heard from this scammer?
