Messenger Scam - A new method to trick people

What's this scamming all about?

Authors and writers are only too happy to help each other. Here is an unusual scam involving a form of cloning—the method was via Messenger.

Although this is written as a scam associated with a bogus author, it could apply to anyone in any field. I have edited out much of the rubbish but provided the main overview.

The logos of Facebook and Messenger are all too familiar. These excellent methods of communication are probably more popular with older generations.

Sally Grant (not her real name) sent a message via Facebook's Messenger service -

'Hello! I'm delighted to connect with you! I'm Sally Grant, a British author. I hope you're having a great day.'

Sally provided a lovely picture and is a mature author. Based on her career, her age would be in her late 60s—mid-seventies.

My reply was pithy because I hate such expressions: I hope you are having a great day. All days are great, I write. I ask about her genre. The personal nature of this reply clashes with my expectations from a new contact. It is frankly impersonal.

Strong Evidence

One does not expect to find people misrepresenting themselves when using Messenger, which I believe is helpful for short notes rather than lengthy communication. Of course, many readers use smartphones, and this makes messaging convenient. Being of a certain age, I prefer the convenience of the larger keyboard of my laptop.

Sally - She writes biography and historical fiction, and then cites some books, which I check out, of course. I found her on Wikipedia. She is well established, and so my guard comes down as I accept the hope you are having a great day. Maybe she thinks this is custom and practice?

She asks how long I've been writing. I reply, now engaged, as she is pretty well established. I do say she is way above my success story, as she has been publishing since 1978 and has a Wiki profile that shows she has a university education. I put these to her and read back later, but there is no university name attached.

Discussions are amiable, and I am taken in until I have a reply, because two hours later, I have not provided her with a follow-up response. ARE YOU THERE? This type of response is usually a red warning for me. No one with decent manners would write this unless pushing to plug a service.

She offers to share her agent. I play along and say this is most generous. A link pops through almost immediately. The words are not typical:

Sally - 'I'd love to introduce you to my specialist. However, due to her busy schedule, I'd like to give her a heads-up so she can keep an eye out for your message.'

I clicked the link, which is always a concern. My computer is packed with software, but no alert is shown. The face of a young person with a very low number of followers is shown. This then becomes the point when the real Sally is no longer the person I think I am talking to. I don't even know if they are the same gender.

The fictitious scammer uses Sally's actual details, but the moment she moves away from factual information, her style of writing becomes immature. It does not fit the person with a successful profile. The use of (!) exclamation marks indicates a poor writer— ask any editor.

The real Sally is very successful and has a seriously impressive backlog of respected books going back 30 years and more. It would be highly unusual for anyone with such literary skills to communicate in the fashion of a person with poor English grammar. Dialogue soon exposes those with a narrow education, limited travel, and likely young and opportunistic. We see this type of scam asking for money in our emails. The English is appalling, so it is easy to spot.

A Clever Messenger Scam in the Making

The person writing fails to appreciate those they write to. This was clever in many ways, but the link, which two days later disappeared, was the final nail in the coffin for this wood-be scammer.

You may not be a writer, but work in some other sphere, but we live in a world where clever criminals constantly find new ways to peddle those despicable methods to cause harm, distress, and cheat people.

I replied when the link disappeared and was given an email from 'damolaheri'—being cautious not to criticise any person of colour or creed, this does link to some type of African base. The person might be genuine, but that is where my enquiry ceased because it seemed highly unlikely that an academic writer, such as Sally Grant, now post-retirement age, would be using a service such as the one suggested. If this were all true, then my view would be that Sally Grant has lowered her standards to a point that I could not even condone working with her.

TWO-POINT CHECK

Two weeks after this scam, I received another. This one was even more authentic and improved on the language.

(1) Any author who has a successful background is unlikely to write to an unknown author.

Check their website and see if the material is similar. Write to the person on the official website to ask if they have contacted you. Remember, it is offensive to bona fide authors to have their identity used for criminal purposes.

(2) If during the texting there is a suggestion that you can be helped by anyone or by using a link which is promised, DO NOT CLICK the link or engage further.

Sadly, when I contacted the real author, another innocent correspondent had been scammed out of money.

R.C. Blyth is the author of fictional works and is a pseudonym for David R. Tollafield. He publishes blogs and self-publishes under Busypencilcase Communications & Publishing Est. 2015.

Thank you for reading 'Messenger Scam. A New Method' by R.C. to trick people under The Writer's Angle.Blyth