Around the Fire Don't Get Burned. Vol. 3 with guest Becky the Beagle.

​Impersonation Scams.
Welcome back to my don’t get burned by the too good to be true scammers. You may already know we are a hound family and Becky the Beagle is with us today, impersonating a Basset Hound. Take a look at her. She’s got the floppy ears and the color, but the second she opened her mouth, you knew that was not Basset ahh-roo. It was more of an annoying yodel.  And here we are impersonating pirates. Don't you love the patch? It gives her a certain je ne sais quoi, don't you think?

​Recently, a person followed me on social media. I was excited. It was a well-known author whose books I’ve read. It started simply enough. She followed me. I, in turn, followed her. I received an instant message thanking me.
1st Red Flag – the infamous IM.
I then looked closely at the profile. Still, it seemed pretty legit. I didn’t respond, though. I rarely answer IMs unless they are from people I genuinely have a connection with. A short while later, this famous author, who I’m sure has so much time on her hands to chat with little ole moi, reached back out, and then came the
2nd Red Flag- “I’d love to talk about your writing journey.”
A friend from long ago once told me I was a Lollypop Face. What in the world did that mean? It meant I was a sucker.
What Is an Imposter Scam? This is according to https://consumer.ftc.gov/features/how-avoid-imposter-scams#imposter-.
An imposter scam is when a scammer lies and pretends to be someone they’re not to trick you into giving them money, access to your financial accounts, or your personal information. Scammers often pretend to be from a business you know or from a government agency — or both. They try to gain your trust and get you to believe they are who they claim to be.
Sometimes it’s really easy to spot these losers. I can’t tell you how many celebrities, both dead and alive, follow me. Can we add the princes, generals, and the occasional king of whatever? Those ones are relatively easy to identify. But why would the author impersonator want to chat me up?
Because they eventually will refer you to some service that promises you the moon. Things like

1. Getting you in front of thousands of readers.
2. Guaranteed marketing to sell hundreds of books.
3. Make you a bestselling author.
4. They know an agent who’s the best and only charges a small fee.

So my canine cohorts recommend

1. Be skeptical, don’t be a lollypop face.
2. Dig up the dirt. Check websites.
3. Don’t give out any information about your private self.
4. And finally, sorry, but be humble. Why would a famous person be reaching out to you? I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s improbable in most cases.

There are many sites dedicated to scammers of all sorts. Here are two I am aware of. 
www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/
www.facebook.com/prededitors/  (This used to be a website called preditors and editors. They look like they're revamping the site.)
Look, even Hali is skeptical.