Cheated, Swindled, or Scammed: What’s a Writer to Do?
By Victoria Strauss | June 28, 2024 |
You’ve chosen a publishing service, engaged a marketing company, entered a writing contest, hired an editor, inked a representation agreement, or contracted with a publisher, hybrid or traditional.
You’re aware that there are no guarantees: your book won’t necessarily become a bestseller. Your story may not win the contest prize. Your agent may not find a home for your manuscript. But your expectation is that the person or company will keep their promises, adhere to timelines, deliver acceptable quality, and generally honor whatever contract or agreement you both have signed.
What if they don’t, though? What if, after paying out a lot of money and/or waiting in vain for a service to be completed and/or receiving a product too shoddy to use, you realize you’ve been conned? What are your options? What can you do?
This is one of the most frequent questions I receive at Writer Beware. It’s one of the hardest to answer, because the difficult truth is that there often is little recourse, especially if a lot of time has passed or the perpetrator is operating from a different country.
But it’s definitely not hopeless. There are actions you can take. Below are some suggestions.
GETTING YOUR MONEY BACK
Scammers generally don’t do refunds (never mind the money-back guarantees that many promise). You can certainly ask: it’s a reasonable starting point. Just be prepared to be refused, or promised a refund that somehow never arrives.
A more direct method, if you paid with a credit or debit card or via PayPal, is to dispute the charges. This doesn’t always succeed: if some degree of service was delivered, even incomplete and/or of poor quality, the decision may go against you. However, I’ve heard from many writers who’ve been able to get some or all of their money back this way.
You do need to be prompt. There’s a limited window to file disputes–which rules out situations where the scam only becomes apparent over a longer period of time (although, from personal experience, credit card companies will sometimes honor disputes beyond their deadlines if you can make a strong enough case).
- PayPal allows disputes to be filed up to 180 calendar days from purchase.
- Credit card companies’ policies vary. In the USA, credit card companies are required by law to give consumers up 60 days from the time they receive their bill to dispute a charge, though many companies allow for a longer 120-day period. In Canada, most companies have a 30-60-day deadline, though some allow up to 90 days. Check your cardholder agreement for the exact policy. You can also check with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which maintains a database of credit card company agreements.
- For a debit card dispute, you’ll need to contact the issuing bank.
Wire transfers, unfortunately, generally can’t be reversed: they are treated like cash transactions (which is why they’re popular with scammers). Payments via apps like Zelle or Venmo are also difficult or impossible to reverse. If you paid a scammer using these methods, contact your bank and ask them to place a fraud watch on your account.
If you used a credit or debit card, you should also consider contacting any one of the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—and asking them to place a fraud alert on your credit report. Over the years, I’ve gotten only a handful of reports of fraudulent credit card transactions by literary scammers, who mostly are content with the money writers give them voluntarily. But it’s best to be safe.
MAKING A REPORT
It’s a depressing fact of life that scammers and other bad actors often get away with it. This is especially true of literary scams, which, as niche crimes that don’t threaten the general public, tend to run below the radar of law enforcement and the official agencies that track and take action against fraud. These days, too, many of the most active and deceptive scams are based in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, which helps to shield them from consequences in the English-speaking countries they mostly target.
Even so, I always encourage fraud victims to report their experience to as many sources as possible. It may seem like you’re just a drop in a bucket–but even if single complaints don’t spur any action, a volume of them may…and you never know how many others may have made similar reports.
And reporting does bring results. For example, a flood of author and creditor reports to the Oklahoma Attorney General shut down fraudulent vanity publisher Tate Publishing. Reaching farther back in time, complaints to the FBI led to jail time for griftmeister Martha Ivery, who ran a vanity publisher, a fee-charging literary agency, and several other cons under a variety of names.
For US writers, there are a number of places to report.
- The Better Business Bureau. The BBB has no regulatory or disciplinary power; it can only try to mediate disputes, and if the business refuses to participate or doesn’t respond, there’s nothing it can do other than adjust its rating. However, the BBB posts complaints and company responses on its website–and even if you don’t want to make a formal complaint, you can leave a review. Consumers do check the BBB, and sharing your experience there could make the next potential fraud victim think twice.
- State Attorneys General. You can file a complaint with the Consumer Fraud division of the office of your state’s Attorney General, and also in the state where the scammer is located.
- The Federal Trade Commission. Any kind of fraud or scam can be reported to the FTC. Their fraud reporting tool is here (you’ll need to click the “Something else” option).
- The Internet Crime Complaint Center. The ICCC is a project of the FBI, and accepts reports of online scams, email hoaxes and other internet-enabled crimes. Its complaint forms are here. If you’re a senior citizen, or a caregiver for one, be sure to note that you’re reporting elder fraud.
- Fraud.org. A project of the National Consumers League, Fraud.org provides fraud alerts as well as help and advice to fraud victims. Their complaint form is here.
- US Postal Inspection Service. Report here if you received anything associated with the scam by snail mail (contracts, brochures, etc.).
For Canadian writers:
- The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre accepts reports of fraud and cybercrime. Its report form is here.
- Consumer complaints can be filed with federal and local Consumer Affairs offices. Here is a list.
- You can initiate a complaint and/or leave a review on the website of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.
Don’t forget local law enforcement (local to the scammer, that is). Reports of schemes and scams being perpetrated in their jurisdiction may motivate police to investigate. In one of the weirdest cases Writer Beware has ever dealt with, complaints to the Banff detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police led to the arrest of a fake literary agent who absconded with the proceeds of a writing conference (and later turned out to have faked her death in the USA to cover up a similar con).
Last but definitely not least…email me at Writer Beware! Even if I can’t post a warning about the scam on social media, or feature it in a blog post (I need multiple documented complaints in order to do that), I can keep the information on file and pass it on if I receive questions or more complaints about the person or company. Writer Beware promises confidentiality: your name and contact information will not be shared or publicly posted without your permission.
LOOKING TO THE LAW
Legal action isn’t something to be entered into lightly. It can be stressful, time-consuming, and extremely costly.
Depending on your situation, though, you may decide it’s necessary—whether you plan to file a lawsuit, send a cease-and-desist, or just seek advice to figure out what your options are. Although limited, there are resources to help, and some of them are specifically geared to people in the arts.
- Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts is a network of organizations that offer free and low-cost legal, and in some cases accounting, services to people in the arts. VLA programs exist in multiple states and cities across the USA (you can find a directory here). Different organizations have different procedures and different requirements (for example, there may be income qualification requirements).
- For Canadian writers, there’s a variety of similar arts law services. The Writers’ Union of Canada maintains a listing.
- Professional writers’ groups may offer legal services and/or advice to members. For example, the Authors Guild provides contract advice and dispute intervention, and the National Writers Union partners with VLA New York to provide pro bono legal services.
- The American Bar Association’s FindLegalHelp.org provides a list of bar directories and lawyer finder/referral services to help you locate the right lawyer. If your situation is publisher- or agent-related, be sure that the lawyer you choose has copyright and/or intellectual property expertise. Publishing is a specialized (not to say arcane) industry, with conventions and contract terms not found elsewhere. Especially if your situation involves a contract dispute, someone without the necessary expertise may not be able to adequately represent you.
Something else to consider: small claims court. Small claims courts impose a dollar cap on claims, and your case needs to qualify and possibly be within a time limit (different states and provinces have different rules—here’s a helpful overview for the USA). But you don’t have to hire a lawyer, and it’s a much cheaper and less formal way to try to resolve a dispute. The one disadvantage: you must file in the state or province where the person or company does business—which, if that’s not the same as your state or province, can make things more complicated and expensive.
In the USA, there is also a small claims court specifically for copyright disputes: the Copyright Claims Board. Similar to regular small claims court, there are dollar caps and time limits, but the filing and adjudication process is streamlined and efficient. For malfeasance involving copyright issues—unauthorized publication, for example, or continued publication after rights reversion—the CCB is an option. (For more information on the CCB, see my blog post.)
ONE LAST THING
Talk about it.
Even if you don’t want to name names, going public with your experience could help other writers avoid similar situations. And it could motivate other victims to come forward.
One place where writers speak out: the Bewares, Recommendations, & Background Check forum of the Absolute Write Water Cooler. This extremely active discussion group has a lot of haters (in part because of BR&BC) but it is a treasure trove of information. Whatever scam or scheme you’ve encountered, you may find that others are already discussing it.
I hear daily from writers who’ve been scammed or cheated in one way or another. It’s an incredibly tough situation to be in. Financial loss is just one aspect; there’s nearly always a huge emotional burden as well, thanks to scammers’ ruthless exploitation of writers’ hopes, dreams, and egos.
Writers in these situations often feel ashamed, exhausted, and hopeless. But taking action—even the small action of reporting your experience—can be empowering. I hope the information above helps. And if there are any resources I’ve overlooked, please let me know.
Have you ever been scammed? Did you report it, and if so, what happened?
Victoria Strauss is the author of nine novels for adults and young adults, including the WAY OF ARATA epic fantasy duology (THE BURNING LAND and THE AWAKENED CITY) and PASSION BLUE and COLOR SONG, a pair of historical novels for teens. In addition, she’s written a handful of short stories, hundreds of book reviews, and a number of articles on writing and publishing that have appeared in Writer’s Digest, among others. In 2006, she served as a judge for the World Fantasy Awards.
She is the co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that provides information and warnings about the many scams and schemes that threaten writers. She received the Service to SFWA Award in 2009 for her work with Writer Beware.
She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.
You do such important and valuable work. Thank you so much.
I entered The Writer Magazine’s essay contest in February 2023. I paid both an entry fee and a critique fee. The contest was never judged due to “restructuring within the company.” I reached out several times for a refund, but none of my emails received a reply.
Thank you so much! This is valuable information every author needs to know. Much appreciated!
Dear Victoria: I absolutely cannot believe I allowed myself to be scammed by Leap Write Literary Group who used the pretense that Penguin Publishing Group would actually be interested in my book! I was on a medication that made me confused and because I wired the money I could not even ask the bank to intervene. How these people can do this and not feel any remorse or shame or sleep at night is beyond me. I have appealed to the writer who was the one charging me $6K but I believe there were three people involved in the scam who would just divide the money and go on with their fraudulent existence.
My second issue is with Stonehenge Literary & Media who DID publish my book for just $1K although I did all the editing, corrections, and layout for the cover to my satisfaction, but have not given me any royalties for almost a year and there seems to be no way to contact them at all. I did find out from another author that got scammed by THEM that at least they have not gone bankrupt.
Unfortunately, I did not read the “writing on the wall!” – and, like many other seniors like myself who just wanted the dream of recognition for their works (it was not about the money) – our books will gather dust in the virtual bookstores of eternity.
Thank you as always for your advise and support – even when it comes to late……..):
Denn Ko
Thank you for sharing your experience. It helps all of us when writers do speak up and talk about what happened to them.
I’m so sorry that Leap Write got you into its clutches–I’ve gotten many reports and complaints about its deceptive solicitations, as well as fake emails supposedly from HarperCollins and other publishers. Like many such scams, it’s based in the Philippines, and staffed by multiple sales reps who use American-sounding aliases. Basically, it’s a boiler room for literary scams.
Stonehenge Literary is the same type of scam. Unfortunately it’s very common for such scams to never pay royalties; they also often cut off contact, especially if an author asks too many questions or refuses to pay for some new service they’re pressured to buy.
There is a very strong element of elder fraud to such scams–I often hear from older people (and their relatives) who’ve been targeted.
If you get tempting offers from other out-of-the-blue solicitations, please feel free to email me and I’ll check them out for you: beware@sfwa.org
Beautiful summary post – thanks for putting so many things in one place.
I haven’t been scammed, but our former children’s librarian, a lovely woman, asked me about self-publishing AFTER she had already paid all of a small inheritance to a vanity publisher – and they wanted MORE money for her children’s book. I don’t believe she ever tried to publish anything again. She didn’t even have access to the illustrations. If anyone had known about what to write, I would have pegged her for it.
Ugh, how terrible. Sadly, there are so many stories like this. (Glad you’ve escaped the scammers, though!)
Leap Wrote forged the Harper Collins Logo and wrote me fake offer letters to fraudulently get me to spend money with them.
The people at Harper Collins don’t know I exist.
They are 100% frauds.
Allen Wilson was my “literary agent.”
He ghosted me.
Their phone number on their website is google voice.
I’m down $5600 and I’ve got nothing to show for it.
They are a total and complete fraud.
Right now I am being bombarded by, Inks and Bindings,Leavitte Peaks Press, Click Sage, and World Wide Books. They call me all day long with big promises for lots of money. I would think if they were legitimate they would not have to do that. They want my money.
All of those companies except for World Wide Books are on my Overseas Scams list, thanks to reports and complaints I’ve received: https://writerbeware.blog/scam-archive/ Since World Wide Books is soliciting you, I assume it’s the same type of scam. Any solicitation you get, you can check the list to see if the company is on it.
You’re right that legitimate publishers, agencies, and movie companies don’t contact authors out of the blue to hawk their services (for scammers, on the other hand, it’s their main way of acquiring clients). There are so many solicitation scams these days that _any_ email or phone call that you can’t directly trace to a query or contact you yourself made is suspect.
I haven’t been scammed by any of these methods, but I think a form of scamming is when a publisher just doesn’t pay you – in my case owing thousands in royalties – because “they didn’t have the money” and then when COVID hit, “how can you be so heartless as to ask for money at a time like this?” I’ve told this story before, but I think it’s always worth letting unsuspecting people know that this can happen from supposedly reputable publishers. It’s publishing’s dirty little secret. My now ex-publisher actually had the nerve to tell me that I should be grateful that my book was bringing me clients, because after all, wasn’t that the purpose of writing a How To book? Eventually a lawyer interceded and I got my rights back, but not my money. After verifying with the lawyer that anything I said about the publisher publicly was fine as long as it was the truth, I immediately posted in the BRBC forum on Absolute Write. It is of some satisfaction to me that when you Google his name in connection with his publishing company, this is what first comes up.
BTW, I discovered after the fact that Author’s Guild has free legal services as part of its membership. They are a wonderful resource and I wish I’d discovered them before securing an independent attorney. She was very good, and tried to save me money through the process, but free is better.
I agree. A deadbeat publisher can rip you off or exploit you as thoroughly as a straight-up scammer.
Sorry you had that experience with your ex-publisher. Not for nothing, but COVID gave a lot of predatory or dishonest publishers a super-duper excuse for non-performance. I’ve gotten a lot of complaints about this.
Thanks for your great tips on how to try to get your money back if you’ve been scammed. I’m a retired lawyer. Usually people can sue in small claims court in their state because the person or company who scammed them did do business in the state when they scammed the writer. But, I think people using small claims court need to be realistic about how challenging it’s going to be to collect on any judgment they get. The person won’t voluntarily pay, and they’ll need to garnish some assets of theirs, like a bank account if they have this information. Thanks for all you do to protect us, Victoria.
Thanks for this info, Natalie.
Thanks for the awesome article, Victoria. I’ve sent a few of the latest Hollywood scams from my email to you, and you’ve always been on top of it! When I give author talks, I always end with a section on scammers and how to avoid them. I totally agree that if a creative has been scammed, report it to the powers that be and then tell the world. By coming forward and publicly announcing these scams across social media, other writers may be saved from heartache. Additionally, even agents can be scammed. So if anyone reading this has an agent, keep the lines of communication open. Anyone can be a target these days, unfortunately. Hopefully, with help from platforms like Writer Beware, we won’t become part of a 60-Minutes segment!
Victoria, thanks for all you do to make us aware of scammers. I tend to be very trusting but haven’t hesitated to pull out of deals when my scam-detector goes up. Haven’t lost anything yet, except for sample stories I sent and a bit of pride. So, it’s not all bad.
A few years back I got caught by the Authors Solutions/Xlibris scam, not aware that I could do everything they did for much cheaper. Even though I attempted to get my money back within the time allotted, they gave excuses, so I figured I might as well get what I could from them to recoup part of my money. They have contacted me over the years with various other scams, but a simple search shows who is behind it. Then there was the guy claiming he was working for film group in Canada. There was a film group by that name, but-they are in bankruptcy and I’m fairly certain they weren’t going to be doing any new movies anytime soon.
My rule of thumb–if I didn’t contact them, it’s a scam and goes to the spam folder. I still get everything from publicity, offers for representation, marketing, films, etc. I’ve learned to trust no one unless I’ve contacted them with references from other writers I know well. In all, I lost $2000 to Xlibris. I swore I’d never make that mistake again. Just like agents don’t contact you out of the blue wanting to represent a book that is over 5 years old.
I am published author and to be traditionally acquired by one of the big publishing house was my goal…
For that matter, several publishers reached out to me and I decided to accept one of the proposal from “WORDHOUSEBP” with a proof of being recommended by NBCC ( National Book Critics Circle ) for $3700 offering ( Relicensing / Republishing / Rebranding / Relaunching my book as Independent author coz traditional publisher does’nt accept self – published books for landing contracts )+ Intensive Marketing Campaign to boost sales, generate revenues and have increased number of copies + Endorsement to Traditional Publisher as the final outcome
Considering pruposal I signed contract with them in Nov 2021 and continued working on my own pace levels as the project was open ended and needed just the upgraded version of manuscript with no submitted timelines
One fine day they messaged that my money has been forfieted and they would not be able to deliver services unless signed a new contract with new revised rates….upon sharing the reason about unexpected death of my mother in law they agreed to work in line with old contract and continued working all over again until 31 Jan 2024.Thereafter, they disappeared or vanished like anything as they stopped communicating without informing they would no longer be serving me
I tried reaching out to them several times through all channels ( Facebook / Instagram / Emails / Making Calls leaving voice mails ) I could but, no luck as after continuos trials they deleted all of their social media post….Disconnected all phone numbers in use ……huhhh…such a pain !!!!
in search of truth, I got to know from the building there office was located at – They are no longer their clients as they left a year back and they dont have any other information related to them
So trusting an agency for 2.5 yrs is a case of CHEATING as they cheated me twice…..I was looking ways how to get my money back and this post just hit at the right time……I just hope this post help someone in need to avoid encountering with WORDHOUSEBP by all means …
Kanika, I’m so sorry about your experience with WordHouseBP. I’ve gotten other reports of scamming by this company, and it’s on my Overseas Scams List (they operate from the Philippines): https://writerbeware.blog/scam-archive/.
If you’re on one scammer’s call or email list, you’re probably on others’…so for future reference, in case another scammer tries to make you an offer, “book licensing/re-licensing” is a fraud. I’ve written about it here: https://writerbeware.blog/2024/04/05/the-scam-of-book-licensing/.
The most common (and most predatory) scams these days are solicitation scams, where the scammer contacts you out of the blue with some kind of publishing- or movie rights-related offer. Reputable companies don’t reach out in this way, and unless you’re self-publishing, there should never be a required fee or purchase for representation, publishing, or bringing your book to movie screens. As a result, your best protection against being ripped off is to assume that any publishing- or movie rights-related email or phone call that you can’t directly trace to a query or submission you made is a scam.
I no longer trust banks or the FDIC. When all my funds were stolen from my savings account, they did NOT want to reimburse me. Their ads about how safe and how helpful they are fake. It took me 9 months of fighting with both of them to get some, but not all, the funds due to me. As for our legislators, they were no help. All I got for writing to them and the government agencies named in this article were letters saying”we are not allowed to help, thanks for writing.”
Has anyone heard of WrittersPublishingLab.com? They are trying to get me to market my books with them
Has anyone else heard of, or used, Book Writers Founders? They did my pre order overseas and have basically stopped responding when they owe me royalties for over $315k – I have asked The Author’s Guild for legal help, as I am a member and just joined based on the sales for this book. Anyone have any advice? Thanks so much!
Book Writing Founders is a ghostwriting scam, similar to those discussed here: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/. I’ve gotten complaints about quality and fulfillment. In general, these kinds of scams tend to produce substandard products (when they produce them at all), and pressure writers to spend more money on add-ons and extras. I’ve also heard from writers who’ve been targeted for more serious fraud involving large upfront fees, such as book order scams or supposed “representation” to Netflix.
It sounds like they sold you on a book order scam. Could you give me more details? Email me if you prefer: beware@sfwa.org. My guess is that there are no royalties, because the pre-orders never existed–i.e., the entire thing was a fiction to get you to pay out a large amount of money. It’s very common for scammers to cut off contact when they judge that writers are tapped out, or when writers get suspicious and start asking questions.
If you paid by credit card and are still within the window to file a dispute, I encourage you to do that, as described in my post, and also to report Book Writing Founders to the BBB and others. I’m really sorry you’ve had this experience.
Bless you so much for responding to me; I emailed you from my business account, and am very grateful for your words of wisdom. As a new author, I am learning this ‘wild west’ is a pretty scary place to be.
Thank you so much for going out of your way to list Canadian resources as well as American. Much appreciated!
Victoria; Your columns are excellent…always filled with useful information about avoiding scams and ruthless publishers. I recently received a call from WP Lighthouse about a book acquisition deal in which my latest book would be marketed in Europe. Do you have any information about this company. Sounds “fishy” to me.
It’s a scam (like pretty much all similar publishing- or movie rights-related contacts). It’s pretty new–I’ve just started getting reports. It’s associated with a fake literary agency called Literary Agents Association that I highlighted in a recent blog post.
Hi,
I have two books published by one if the ‘big five’ publishing houses. My royalties have never been great, but they have recently dwindled to practically nothing, although Amazon shows that at least one book a week is being sold with them. I queried this with my Commissioning Editor, who was evasive and said it was the difference between my sales with the publisher and Amazon sales. I then pointed out that they, as the publisher and distributor of my books, had received the money for theses sales (they were not sale or return to Amazon), so I should have received my royalty percentage. I have had no response. I also asked the accounts department for all of my sales figures since publication (5 years). No response. What can an author do if they suspect they’re not receiving their full royalties?
I fell victim to a scam run through the app “Bitcoin Bonus.” I received an email stating that I had signed up for a free Bitcoin mining site. I watched the account grow for about a year, and believed at one point, I had $32,000 waiting to be claimed. Then I received a message saying I had 24 hours to claim the money, or the account would be deleted. I attempted to follow the steps on the site to release the funds, but it asked me to provide a wallet address or cash card number and said there would be a $1640.00 upfront fee to withdraw. I reported communicating through the online chat function of the app, with an account manager named “Amelia”. It also instructed me to use an “express account” so as not to pay Federal Income Tax, which it claimed would be 25% of the profit. When I tried to withdraw, I was told his payout would be broken into two installments, and I would have to pay commissions. But for every stage more money was demanded until I was scammed about 98,000 USDT. Good news is that I got my money recovered through the help of CORE EXPERT IT CHECKERS located in Japan. (recoveryaccesscode.cybersecurity.jp@inbox.eu)
I promised to let the whole world know about my experience and how I finally got helped.
It is painful to invest and lose, binary options is more of a gamble if you ask me, especially when your broker decides to invest on your behalf. That’s how I lost all my funds with GTOptions. They claimed they invested on my behalf, what nonsense, Anyway, long story short, guys and I got my money back from within days of my contact getting in touch with the IT CYBER CHECKERS. or other email…@/// recoveryaccesscode11@gmail.com
Hiring a lawyer is useless so don’t waste your time, I was lucky to get referred to this cyber security. You can shoot an email if you have similar situation.