Beware Flattering Fan Mail in the Age of AI
‘Tis the season… for AI-generated scammer emails that seem to know a lot about your book—and promise they can sell thousands of copies. Yuck.
In the past week alone, we’ve seen at least six versions: each one seemed to show a deep knowledge of the author’s book, its strengths, and a heartfelt appreciation of its importance. Then they offer to help the author increase their visibility, or rise in the search rankings, or any other number of services — for a fee, often for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Unfortunately, these emails take about 35 seconds to create. The scammer throws in the book catalog description and maybe a couple blurbs and reader reviews from Amazon to the AI prompt, and voila — a compelling, flattering, and personalized email that can separate authors from their money.
Here are a couple tips for evaluating emails and distinguishing between real fan mail, marketing emails from legitimate service providers, and horrible AI-powered scam grinches:
Don't click on any hyperlinks in the emails. If you need to verify information, do your own internet search instead. Look up the sender’s email address and their business to see if they have a legitimate online presence: a professional website, established social media profiles, and mentions across multiple unrelated sources. If you can't find credible evidence of their existence, it's likely a scam.
Examine the sender's credentials. Red flags include: an email address with random numbers and letters, awkward titles inserted into the address (like "expert.johndoe"), a mismatch between the email address and the name in the message, or no mention of a verifiable business or organization. Watch carefully for swapped or similar letters — m and n, or p and g and q, and for domains that mimic legitimate companies (like 'penguin-random-house.com' instead of 'penguinrandomhouse.com'.)
Look at the language. Does the description of your book read like a detailed plot summary—as if they're trying too hard to prove they've read it? This is often a sign of an AI-generated email attempting to create a false sense of familiarity.
Be a skeptic. Legitimate professionals provide their contact information, and ask to discuss specific opportunities. Scammers, on the other hand, often promise immediate results—guaranteed media coverage, placement in an implausibly large book club, or boosted Amazon rankings—with no discussion of process or payment required. If an offer seems too easy or too good to be true, there’s a decent chance it is.
Launching a book is a vulnerable experience, and it's disheartening to approach what looks like praise with skepticism. But in an era of AI-generated scams targeting authors, it's worth keeping your guard up.
Wishing everyone (except the AI scammers!) a wonderful holiday season.