Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hi John
I just got a similar message on my Facebook page. She doesn’t use messenger and asked that I email her directly. She said she had a question that she didn’t want to put on a public platform.
She did have over 700 friends and many were writers. I am wondering if it’s a spammy account?
It’s so hard when you get your hopes up and something like that happens.

Gwen

Gwen wrote: "Hi John
I just got a similar message on my Facebook page. She doesn’t use messenger and asked that I email her directly. She said she had a question that she didn’t want to put on a public platform..."

Hi Gwen. It's good (or disturbing) to know that I'm not the only one. I just hope no one actually falls for this ploy.

I am glad you commented when you did. I only just got the message, and truth be told, part of me was a little intrigued.

Odd that you chose to post this in the rules folder, yet you either didn't bother to read the rules or you didn't feel you needed to follow them. Your message is good and it's been a bit since anyone warned newer authors about the dangers of scam artists, so thank you for that.

Your message is below for anyone who missed it, with the links removed.

John wrote: "Mods, please feel free to move this thread to the right folder, but I need to bring this to everyone's attention.

I recently found a comment posting on my author profile asking for review copies of my book, specifically PDF or EPUB, which wouldn't be unusual except that the poster gave a spammy looking gmail address to contact him.

Barely an hour later, someone else posted a comment on an old blog post of mine claiming to want to interview indie authors, and also giving a dodgy looking gmail address. This person claims not to be active on Goodreads and requested direct contact via their email address.

Both accounts look brand new with no visible activity, only two or four books in their libraries, and are set to private. I would rather raise the alarm and have this turn out to be nothing, but please be wary of people contacting you with similar offers to communicate outside of Goodreads."

This happened to me also. just as described above.

Dwayne wrote: "Odd that you chose to post this in the rules folder, yet you either didn't bother to read the rules or you didn't feel you needed to follow them. Your message is good and it's been a bit since anyo..."

Hi Dwayne,

No offence, but spam accounts attempting to solicit email contacts and (in my case) original copyrighted story files from indie authors who might fall for what was is obviously a scam was too urgent to spend too long figuring out which of the hundreds of folders to post this under, hence why I said to feel free to move the thread to the appropriate folder.

In any case, I'll be sure to familiarise myself with the rules and to post any future threads in the appropriate folders. I will certainly do so for non-urgent threads.

If they are afraid to put it out there for the public to see or won't use messenger, I'd ignore it. Spam is everywhere once people know you are a writer, Things like making your book into a movie for $5K, or we do all the work for $3-10K, or the publicity scam for $1-10K. Those are all scams. Just for giggle and grins when I had some free time, I talked to one, He was unaware I was checking him out. He was using a Canadian movie studio who was in bankruptcy. His price, thinking he had a fish on the line was $5K. When I finally got tired of his used car salesman tactics, I told him what I'd found and that he doesn't work there and he is promoting a scam. I also told him to let the others in his little ring know that I do check them out and will report him and any others that call. I did call the fraud line and gave his phone, number, the name he was using and the scam he was promoting.

I just got an Email from someone whose "scouts" "discovered" a book published back in 2015 and they wanted me to call to "discuss" getting my book with a traditional publisher. Went to spam since they would ask for money. No one has "scouts" looking at books at the bottom of Amazon. Ignore all the so called credentials. If they had that training, they wouldn't be emailing me for business.

Bottomline, if you didn't call them or contact them, spam folder or delete the call. Legitimate agents don't have to find business since they are overly busy and don't need more MS to read. And they don't use scouts. Always check websites, names, and if they promise you a bunch of stuff, delete. And you can do everything they are promising to do for only a few dollars or for free.

B.A. wrote: "If they are afraid to put it out there for the public to see or won't use messenger, I'd ignore it. Spam is everywhere once people know you are a writer, Things like making your book into a movie f..."

Definitely. The first spam account I referenced was asking for review copies of a book I published all the way back in 2018 and claimed not to have access to a Kindle, LOL.

I have a legit website. When I talk to people here I ask them for us to continue via my website email. It is easier for me to keep up with requests, guest posts, book spotlights, etc.

UPDATE: I've just received a flurry of abusive comments, many in all caps, and written with a level of English you'd expect from a middle school dropout.

These comments were posted by various sock puppet accounts no doubt connected to the same scammers I've been warning about. I've reported both the comments and the "users" and will keep people updated.

John wrote: "UPDATE: I've just received a flurry of abusive comments, many in all caps, and written with a level of English you'd expect from a middle school dropout.

These comments were posted by various sock..."

Just goes to prove that they were not legit in what they were wanting. I'd be reporting them also

The same eight spam accounts, no doubt run by the same pathetic little cockroach, have just review-bombed my books with one-star ratings. Screen-grabbing the proof that they're spam ratings in order to report them and get them removed is an inconvenience, but at least there's a scammer who'll be behind on his rent because of me.

I had a fake reviewer bomb my account last year, mostly just sending intimidating messages to try and get me to leave the site since I told them I wasn't interested in buying a review when they sent me an unsolicited message.

If you report it, they should be able to remove them, but it really has gotten out of control, with these sorts of scum trying to hold authors hostage. It's beyond pathetic. Sorry you're going through this. Hope they get IP banned. Good luck.

John wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "Odd that you chose to post this in the rules folder, yet you either didn't bother to read the rules or you didn't feel you needed to follow them. Your message is good and it's been a..."

It's not the folder, it's the links. That was the problem.

Dwayne wrote: "John wrote: "Dwayne wrote: "Odd that you chose to post this in the rules folder, yet you either didn't bother to read the rules or you didn't feel you needed to follow them. Your message is good an..."

Ok, fair enough. Thanks for clarifying.

E.M. wrote: "I had a fake reviewer bomb my account last year, mostly just sending intimidating messages to try and get me to leave the site since I told them I wasn't interested in buying a review when they sen..."

Thanks, and sorry you went through the same thing. I reported the review bombing a short while ago, so hopefully those one-star ratings will be removed from my books before long. Did you manage to get the bogus one-star ratings removed from your books?

It took awhile (at least 2 days but maybe more like four) but I believe the accounts were eventually all banned, which removed all their activity by default.

I reported every single one of the messages they sent me and also sent a message direct to goodreads with screencaps of the threats. They were from various private accounts and written like "If u evar come hear again well attack u agin!"

It sounds to me like you might even be dealing with the same pest. Utter trash.

((Also, why would anyone pay for a review from someone who can't write a proper threat?))

Anyway, it might take a bit. I would recommend turning off the thing where they can send you questions in the interim. At the peak, they were sending something like 40 a day. Totally unhinged.

E.M. wrote: "It took awhile (at least 2 days but maybe more like four) but I believe the accounts were eventually all banned, which removed all their activity by default.

I reported every single one of the me..."

Thanks for the tip, I've just disabled non-friends commenting on my reviews and blog posts. I guess I'll just wait it out until all those accounts have been banned.

Sorry this is happening to you guys!

A few months ago, I had similar experiences. Several private accounts were spamming my Ask the Author textbox with comments, also written in all caps, insulting me for not using their paid review services. I would report and remove these comments from my Ask the Author settings, as well as block the accounts, only to get a stream of 20 more comments from a bunch of different spam accounts (also set to private) with the same or similar all-cap insults. Thankfully, it has not happened ever since, but I understand that it can get nerve-racking, just knowing that it might happen again if you discuss your book on GR or even remain active on the website. Thank you for bringing this to concern. I hope things get better for you all.

Good thing I'm only on this group on site. I despise having to clean up the trash talk and bad reviews. Disgruntled people who don't get what they want make life miserable for the one being dumped on and I feel bad for you.

The bad things going on at Amazon is the main reason I went wide. Without advertising, I get a couple sales a month from other places than Amazon. I still get a few here, but I actually get more elsewhere.

The spam bot issue has gotten bad recently on Goodreads (and most social media these days). I try to flag them whenever I see them. I got an aggressive email from one of them to my author email, basically cursing out authors and wanting payment for reviews??? like, baby it doesn't work like that. immediate block!

I've no idea how they target indie authors. They must have a way to access the emails of people with author profiles

Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone.."

No links.

Dwayne wrote: "Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone.."

No links."

Sorry Dwayne. My bad.

Lucy wrote: "Sorry this is happening to you guys!

A few months ago, I had similar experiences. Several private accounts were spamming my Ask the Author textbox with comments, also written in all caps, insultin..."

I hadn't been that active on Goodreads in a while until I got the notification about the first spam comment, so ironically this whole incident is leading me to get involved in the community again.

Well, I just finished reporting and deleting a barrage of at least 150 more abusive spam comments attacking me and my books (apparently they're full of religious bigotry AND anti-religious bigotry, among other things).

In fact, it was really just four or five of the same comments posted twenty or thirty times in a row by the same low-IQ scammer who thinks he can intimidate me into abandoning Goodreads or buying what services he claims to offer. Is he behind on payments to a loanshark or something?

If anyone knows a way to disable comments on blog posts and author questions (I've already disabled them for my reviews), I'd be grateful, since the pitiful little cockroach isn't going to stop until his accounts are finally disabled by Goodreads.

John wrote: "Well, I just finished reporting and deleting a barrage of at least 150 more abusive spam comments attacking me and my books (apparently they're full of religious bigotry AND anti-religious bigotry,..."

Didn't see anything about posting images, so I hope this is okay. Your questions are currently open to the public is this is where the scammers attack most because only you can see their inbox submissions. The advantage of this is that you can report those comments directly to goodreads, but after a bit they're just spam and not worth your time.

Go to Author Dashboard on the dropdown menu:



Mark the Option that Allows Users to Ask Questions to OFF:



This field is the third down, below your stats and booklist. Good luck!

In case you don't know, you can also contact Goodreads directly and this will tend to get your ticket resolved a bit faster.

To do this go to "Help" on the dropdown menu (pictured above).

In the field, type "Report Abuse"



Hit "Search"

This will take you to a new page. Choose the tan "Contact Us" option.



Fill in the form:



Goodreads will likely contact you by email. Be as through in your reporting as possible. Include links to any books that might have been bombed. Hope this helps! Sorry I can't post a link. IF you get confused, just message me and I'll send it direct.

E.M. wrote: "John wrote: "Well, I just finished reporting and deleting a barrage of at least 150 more abusive spam comments attacking me and my books (apparently they're full of religious bigotry AND anti-relig..."

Thanks a lot! It was staring me right in the face the whole time.

From your all's experiences, I'm glad I've restricted my use of Goodreads to this group and on for beta readers. That's it and I've only used the beta read group once.

I hope you all get it the problem fixed. Sad went lowlifes attack you for not falling for their scams.

John wrote: "E.M. wrote: "John wrote: "Well, I just finished reporting and deleting a barrage of at least 150 more abusive spam comments attacking me and my books (apparently they're full of religious bigotry A..."

NP! You might still get the occasional comment on your already answered questions, but I wouldn't worry about those. They usually send less of them because they're easier for multiple people to report.

And, actually B.A., I think one of them is in this group, because I was contacted via email immediately after I began helping John, with a message telling me to suspend all Goodreads activity or they were going to give my information to "criminals in your area" because they "know where" I live. Only, y'know, all in CAPS and with worse grammar. I reported the email to their provider and to the Federal Trade Commission. Doubt anything will be done but here's hoping.

E.M. wrote: "In case you don't know, you can also contact Goodreads directly and this will tend to get your ticket resolved a bit faster.

To do this go to "Help" on the dropdown menu (pictured above).

In the ..."

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I did actually file a report with links to the affected books and also to eight of the spam accounts, but then another seven showed up (which I've reported individually).

The Goodreads staff deserve their weekend break, but I hope they sort this out as early next week as possible.

John wrote: "The Goodreads staff deserve their weekend break, but I hope they sort this out as early next week as possible.
"

It's possible, even likely, they have someone there 'round the clock.

Good News (so far): I woke up this morning to find 15 notifications from Goodreads, one for each of the sock puppet accounts that I reported, informing me that they were being investigated for their conduct. Hopefully they'll be banned soon and, even more hopefully, the fake one-star ratings they posted will also disappear.

FYI, I've also just posted a new book review, because I have no intention of allowing semi-literate bottom-feeders like the one who runs those sock puppet accounts to prevent me from using Goodreads.

John wrote: "Good News (so far): I woke up this morning to find 15 notifications from Goodreads, one for each of the sock puppet accounts that I reported, informing me that they were being investigated for thei..."

Hello John. I just received a handful of similar notifications this morning as well. Long story short, I've been bombarded by bot accounts ever since last Friday.

Currently, they've gotten into the comments section of my more recent Goodreads blog posts and author question page and they can be seen through the one star ratings of my debut novel, Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale. Thus, I have reported them via the flagging method and reaching out to Goodreads about the bot situation via their contact form.

UPDATE: I just discovered that the comments and ratings in question have been removed! Hooray! However, I'll still keep an eye out for any future bot activity.

Hailey wrote: "John wrote: "Good News (so far): I woke up this morning to find 15 notifications from Goodreads, one for each of the sock puppet accounts that I reported, informing me that they were being investig..."

I just checked and all the bogus one-star ratings on my books have disappeared, too! I guess this means the accounts that posted them have been banned, so hurray and good riddance!

E.M. wrote: "John wrote: "E.M. wrote: "John wrote: "Well, I just finished reporting and deleting a barrage of at least 150 more abusive spam comments attacking me and my books (apparently they're full of religi..."

The FTC will take those threats seriously. They have an investigation unit and if the person is stateside, they may be getting a visit from the men in black. (had a friend who worked for the FBI cyber threat division and they take all threats seriously when reported.)

B.A. wrote: "E.M. wrote: "John wrote: "E.M. wrote: "John wrote: "Well, I just finished reporting and deleting a barrage of at least 150 more abusive spam comments attacking me and my books (apparently they're f..."

Very good to know.

Glad it worked out!

Just turned off my Ask the Author again. Book pirates the first time. Geez! Thanks all.

Well, the same lowlife has periodically come back posting the same misspelt all-caps threats if I don't buy whatever shitty review service he's supposedly offering, but each time I've reported the accounts they get banned.

At this point it's a mild nuisance cleaning up the comments this loser posts, and of course each time it's actually the same comment posted sixty times over. I'm SO intimidated, LOL.

Same here.