IMPORTANT: Attempted Scam - Supposed "monthly reader led book challenge" > Likes and Comments

Hi -- I am an author who recently received an emailed invitation from (supposedly) a UK Book Club moderator. They offered to include my book in a "monthly reader led book challenge" in this group. After a few email exchanges, they revealed there was a "registration fee" to "formalise the process and ensure commitment." I'm posting here to find out if this challenge is real or a scam. Thanks.

Hi Daniel, thank you for your message. That is odd. Liz normally sends out a monthly message to members of the UK Book Club which invites everyone to vote on the suggestions for the following months book. She includes links for several of our other reading challenges. But that should come through the messages on Goodreads and not via e-mail.

There is a chat where we ask for suggestions for the next month which you can find here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... and you are welcome to put your own book forward for inclusion in the poll should you wish. But there is certainly not a registration fee for this. Sounds like the e-mail was a scam.

FYI Liz and I are the only currently active moderators for this group. I hope that helps.

Thanks. I'm sorry to report that the scam was sent out in your name, Kate, with a link to your Goodreads profile to make it look legitimate. The return email address they're using is "katemoderatoor@gmail.com" (note the misspelling). I will attempt to report this scam to Goodreads because it's probably automated and might use other moderators' addresses as well. If you'd like copies of the emails, I'll be happy to send them to you.

I have reported the scam to Goodreads and forwarded them copies of the emails.

Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention, Daniel. It's definitely a scam. I will send a message to the members to warn them. I will also contact Goodreads and the Moderators Group to warn others.

Thank you for the heads up Daniel. I have also reported it.

Hi Kate and Liz, I received the same email today as Daniel, and exchanged emails with "Kate" until mention of the fee, which shot up a red flare. Thankfully I googled, found Daniel's post and put the brakes on. I hate to admit that the scammer is talented....they set the hook very well : (

This is a popular new scam in the U.S. as well. I got an invitation (not through Goodreads) purporting to be from a well-known book club to feature one of my books on their recommended list and to make a presentation via Zoom. The scammer used AI to describe my book in detail, using a combination of the blurb and reviews, making it sound as if the person writing had actually read the book. I engaged with the person, who wrote an articulae and friendly reply, and we got as far as the request for money before I became wary and located a different email address for the book club. At that point I found out it was an ongoing scam and submitted the correspondence and bank data as evidence for the book club’s ongoing case against the scammer. It was very sophisticated!

I just got another one this morning from someone who used AI to produce an outreach claiming my book was well suited for a movie rights sale. That one earned a very sarcastic reply from me before I blocked the sender—I claimed I wanted to include a character like the sender in my next book and wanted insight into what motivates a person to become a parasite preying on the dreams of others rather than earning an honest living. Dumb but satisfying.

Abigail wrote: "This is a popular new scam in the U.S. as well. I got an invitation (not through Goodreads) purporting to be from a well-known book club to feature one of my books on their recommended list and to ..."

That is a brilliant reply, Abigail!

Tom wrote: "Hi Kate and Liz, I received the same email today as Daniel, and exchanged emails with "Kate" until mention of the fee, which shot up a red flare. Thankfully I googled, found Daniel's post and put t..."

I'm so sorry you've been targeted too, Tom.