Accord64
Write well, edit often.
- Oct 8, 2012
- 3,549
- 3,927
Email scams continue to evolve, growing more subtle and sophisticated. And AI only makes it worse.
I thought I'd share the latest email scam attempt I received, which came at me from a strange new angle.
I've received author email scams for many years, and most of the time they have been plainly obvious. Generic greetings, poor grammar and spelling, abrupt requests for sensitive information, over-sensationalized offers, and of course the telltale suspicious "click on me" link or attachments. And lately, some have been very entertaining while being obvious.
But the latest one was much more clever and low-key. Here's the email I received, word for word, not redacting who it's from as that's part of the play:
Okay, I thought it a bit odd that any author would reach out to me out of the blue and not mention where/how he ran across me. But the message lacked any of the typical telltale scam verbiage or attempt to sell me on something. Could it be authentic?
I looked up this author and his works. He's a real person who writes primarily in the non-fiction history genre, and seems pretty well read. He's also published through a respectable UK publisher, as well as hosts a real podcast, and is a lecturer. I really couldn't find an angle of what he might be trying to peddle. Then I dove more into his background.
And then it came to the surface - mainly because I'm not a well-read non-fiction reader. Charles Spenser is the younger brother of Princess Diana!
At this point my suspicions deepened, but I really wasn't ready to write him completely off. Yes, I wondered how in the world did I, a not so well-known fiction novelist, get on his radar? We come from very different places.
So, my wife had a great idea: Use AI to sniff out AI. We had AI write a reply to him under the suspicion that he could be an imposter. Here's the reply I sent:
I received this reply the next day:
I confirmed (on the official Charles Spencer author website) that the correct official email was given. Now it was time to complete the authenticity loop. So, I sent the following email (with a copy of the entire email message chain) to the official email address:
Two days later, I received the following message:
Noting the return email address, I laughed and immediately replied:
Two days have gone by with no reply. Busted!
I can't say where it would have gone if I had just accepted his identity and started corresponding. Part of me wishes that I did, just to find out where it would go and what the scam really was.
But the bottom line is to NEVER trust this type of contact. Always, ALWAYS verify, and don't feel bad for doing so. Or just simply ignore them. But where's the fun in that?
I thought I'd share the latest email scam attempt I received, which came at me from a strange new angle.
I've received author email scams for many years, and most of the time they have been plainly obvious. Generic greetings, poor grammar and spelling, abrupt requests for sensitive information, over-sensationalized offers, and of course the telltale suspicious "click on me" link or attachments. And lately, some have been very entertaining while being obvious.
But the latest one was much more clever and low-key. Here's the email I received, word for word, not redacting who it's from as that's part of the play:
Okay, I thought it a bit odd that any author would reach out to me out of the blue and not mention where/how he ran across me. But the message lacked any of the typical telltale scam verbiage or attempt to sell me on something. Could it be authentic?
I looked up this author and his works. He's a real person who writes primarily in the non-fiction history genre, and seems pretty well read. He's also published through a respectable UK publisher, as well as hosts a real podcast, and is a lecturer. I really couldn't find an angle of what he might be trying to peddle. Then I dove more into his background.
And then it came to the surface - mainly because I'm not a well-read non-fiction reader. Charles Spenser is the younger brother of Princess Diana!
At this point my suspicions deepened, but I really wasn't ready to write him completely off. Yes, I wondered how in the world did I, a not so well-known fiction novelist, get on his radar? We come from very different places.
So, my wife had a great idea: Use AI to sniff out AI. We had AI write a reply to him under the suspicion that he could be an imposter. Here's the reply I sent:
I received this reply the next day:
I confirmed (on the official Charles Spencer author website) that the correct official email was given. Now it was time to complete the authenticity loop. So, I sent the following email (with a copy of the entire email message chain) to the official email address:
Two days later, I received the following message:
Noting the return email address, I laughed and immediately replied:
Two days have gone by with no reply. Busted!
I can't say where it would have gone if I had just accepted his identity and started corresponding. Part of me wishes that I did, just to find out where it would go and what the scam really was.
But the bottom line is to NEVER trust this type of contact. Always, ALWAYS verify, and don't feel bad for doing so. Or just simply ignore them. But where's the fun in that?
