Interesting article in the New York Times:
Why on Earth Is Someone Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/books/publishing-manuscripts-phishing-scam.html
The upshot is that someone(s) out there is sending oddly specific emails to writers trying to scam them into turning over unpublished manuscripts, and nobody knows why. The targets aren't limited to well-known and commercially successful writers; the manuscripts aren't turning up on pirate sites; nobody is even issuing threats to pirate the manuscripts and demanding ransom. The scammers seem sometimes to work from the announcements in trade publications that so-and-so has a forthcoming book with such-and-such, but sometimes they seem to have more inside knowledge. Some of them seem to be playing a long game--using lookalike domains that they registered years ago. So maybe the payoff is yet to come?
Be careful out there, folks. If your agent or editor is sending you a request for material that sounds a little out-of-character, it doesn't hurt to verify before responding. Start a fresh email chain so you know exactly where your message is going.
Why on Earth Is Someone Stealing Unpublished Book Manuscripts?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/books/publishing-manuscripts-phishing-scam.html
The upshot is that someone(s) out there is sending oddly specific emails to writers trying to scam them into turning over unpublished manuscripts, and nobody knows why. The targets aren't limited to well-known and commercially successful writers; the manuscripts aren't turning up on pirate sites; nobody is even issuing threats to pirate the manuscripts and demanding ransom. The scammers seem sometimes to work from the announcements in trade publications that so-and-so has a forthcoming book with such-and-such, but sometimes they seem to have more inside knowledge. Some of them seem to be playing a long game--using lookalike domains that they registered years ago. So maybe the payoff is yet to come?
Be careful out there, folks. If your agent or editor is sending you a request for material that sounds a little out-of-character, it doesn't hurt to verify before responding. Start a fresh email chain so you know exactly where your message is going.
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