Meerkat Prompts: The Evolution of the Con
A while back, I wrote a post about scammers. In the wake of a spate of recent emails, and a somewhat intriguing phone call, I find myself revisiting this subject, because those who would deceive us out of our money are evolving, and it is important that we evolve right along with them.
The first problem relates to being an author, though it would not surprise me in the least if similar methods are being exploited in other fields. What I have had a lot of – via email and also via messages on Instagram – is contact from people feigning interest in my books. What a lot of these people are doing is running the blurbs through an AI filter to create an email they think is credible, but it’s not, not by a long shot. Behind the faux praise and fawning statements there is a sales pitch (even if they deny this). They’ll want to offer services behind getting more reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, and drive awareness of the brand, so to speak.
It’s all very wishy-washy, and no doubt their hope is that following the offer of a review (or perhaps leaving a review to show their good faith), I will reciprocate with interest in their wares. I don’t. A little bit of research reveals there is no business, no plan, nothing other than an effort to get cash.
In some cases, we even have cases of false identities. I had an email from the New York Time bestselling author Ken Follet… except I didn’t. I don’t expect an established literary giant to randomly email me of all people, to ask about my journey as an author. I doubt Mr Follet even knows I exist! As with many of these messages, it is worth checking the sender’s email address; Mr Follet is also unlikely to be using a throwaway gmail account.
I touched about the use of AI in these efforts, and that comes across pretty clearly from the way in which some of these scammers have wielded my books’ blurbs. Regurgitating my stories back at me via the blurb is not going to convince me that you’ve read the books! If you truly want to persuade me you’ve read my work, buy it, read it, and leave a thorough review. Perhaps then I’ll find you to be credible.
AI has reared its head in another way. I rarely answer random numbers that call my mobile, and have set up spam detection, but one call came in that wasn’t flagged, and though I was initially hesitant, I thought ‘eh, why not?’ The voice was of an English gentleman, but something seemed off. I don’t think I was talking to a human being. Needless to say, this is a new escalation in the world of scams, because whereas a lot of people – rightly or wrongly – hang up or ignore callers with a foreign accent, they may be more inclined to heed a call from someone they think is local, even if they’re calling from ‘Energy Supply Company’ or ‘Loft Insulation Company’, as opposed to a genuine business.
Be vigilant. Never click on links in emails that you have even the slightest distrust of. Contact the alleged company via an internet search and websites relating to that search. Check the sender’s email address. See if they address you by name or as ‘dear customer’ or via your internet pseudonym. Get some kind of call guard for your mobile – a lot of them are free – to screen for spam calls, and if you do answer a number you don’t recognise, be very, very hesitant about revealing information. These days, even saying ‘yes’, or giving any kind of affirmation, can be risky, given how calls are recorded and your speech abused.
Don’t let scammers win!
‘Kat Comments