Many novelists receive flattering emails every day from people who say they love their work. However, authors are discovering that these passionate messages are not from real readers, but from online scammers using artificial intelligence (AI). The messages praise specific details from the books to sound convincing, before asking the authors to pay money for fake promotion services.
Because AI programs have been trained on thousands of copyrighted books, they can easily imitate knowledgeable readers and discuss a novel's characters or themes. Some scammers even send messages pretending to be famous writers, such as Ottessa Moshfegh or Sally Rooney. Once an author replies, the sender offers to promote the book to local reading clubs if the author transfers a few hundred dollars to cover costs.
When one author decided to investigate an email from someone claiming to lead the Berlin Book Club, he agreed to pay, but insisted on sending cash in an envelope. The scammer eventually provided a postal address, which was not in Germany, but in a rural area of the Philippines.
The address points to a growing criminal industry in Southeast Asia. Organised crime networks run large facilities known as "scam farms", where thousands of trafficked people are forced to carry out online fraud. For writers, the experience shows how artificial intelligence is changing online scams, turning personal praise into a tool for theft.