Scammers Get Personal - A New Low - Associated Content Writers Beware
Scammers Get Personal - A New Low - Associated Content Writers Beware
Writers are getting more savvy about getting ripped off by rogue agents and publishers. Now there’s a new spin on the infamous “Nigerian scam”. The scary thing is this version is a personally written scam, and takes advantage of personal information. It’s not just one of the generic “spam a million random people” variety.
In the usual version of the Nigerian scam you receive an email saying they have a huge amount of money and need to invest it overseas urgently (insert various versions of illness, danger, political insurgency etc. here). For your help (after you part with some money), you will get a percentage. Of course you can kiss that money goodbye as fast as you can say “the check’s in the mail’.
Scammers Use Personalised Messages and Information
This new version targets writers through PM (personal messaging) at content sites like Associated Content. Robyn from Momma Writes explains how a scammer approached her through her Associated Content PM (Personal Messaging). (Momma a writes is one of the blogs I featured on my list of Great Places To Hang Out For Mothers Who Write).
Robyn issues this caution to those who write and share information on the net -
“The fact of our world is anyone who has information about themselves on the Internet is vulnerable. I hope that I always look compassionate enough that someone in need can come to me. But I also hope I am also wise enough to be able to discern where the real needs are and where they are not.”
Associated Content Article Warns Writers About Scam
She also points us to Melissa Bermudez’s very informative Associated Content article - Scammers Using Associated Content - Warning to All Content Producers. Thanks Robyn and Melissa for alerting writers to this scam. There’s a caution here also for what you share by email, not just publicly on the net. This is not meant to alarm, as common sense and finely tuned antennae usually prevail, but all the same - Writers beware!
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going - What Do You Think?
Have you ever had anyone try to scam you on the net or by email? Do you have any advice for writers sharing personal information online? How can you strike a balance between promoting yourself and your business, without divulging too much? Do you have any advice for others?
I have to admit I’ve always wondered who on earth falls for those scams. I think it’s fair to say that if someone you have never heard of before seems to be offering you large quantities of money, then it’s too good to be true. I suppose that if they send the emails to enough people, then only a 0.0001% response will make them a profit.
To wander off topic a little, there was a BBC journalist called Donal MacIntyre who went undercover to investigate one of those Nigerian scams (I interviewed MacIntyre for Amazon back when they paid professionals for book reviews – happy days). They were scary, scary people and MacIntyre had to abort the investigation as he felt he was in danger.
hey great article! Thank you.
Hi John
This scam has been around for years now, and is often reported in the media, so like you, I find it hard to understand how people can get “sucked in”. The consequences are often tragic, though.
The second part of your comment is also interesting. It makes you wonder about who is behind these scams, as they are well co-ordinated international operations. As you say, it is scary stuff indeed. Now that they are targeting people on a personal level, there is even more reason to use caution with a healthy dose of common sense.
Has anyone else had any experiences with this type of thing or variations thereof?
Hi Claudia - Thanks for visiting. Hopefully, spreading the word may some someone else from finding out the hard way. I also imagine those who corresponded with this person in good faith would feel both betrayed and somewhat vulnerable, or at the very least, used.
Scammers can only succeed where there is greed or a desire to “beat the system”. When someone comes to you with a sob-story, and u pass him ten-bucks for a meal, that’s begging, not a scam. But if they promise you great returns in appreciation for your “kindness” and you fall for it… then you need to ask yourself, doing it for the “reward” or doing it for the “compassion”? Is the compassion a convenient excuse to act on the greed? In any case, it is never a good feeling to be scammed. Be safe.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:20 am
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