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Just when I thought I’d be able to write something NOT about scammers this week…

An actor, playwright, and author contacted me this week. He was scammed for $8K by a so-called “book marketing agency.”

Of course, the first thing I did was look at their website. They have a horizontal line of text that moves, claiming ridiculous things like “award winning,” “bestselling,” etc. Except, none of those are clickable. “Bestselling” what? “As Seen In” where??

I only had to look at one testimonial to know it was fake. It was a book by a celebrity author. I contacted him right away. His fake testimonial has since been removed but there are many more on the scammer’s website.

So, I was going back and forth with the victim by email yesterday and today. He wanted to know what organizations to contact to get the scammer’s website taken down. He’d already contacted a couple. I told him, “Unfortunately, if they are overseas, you really have no recourse.”

He replied, “He’s based in Washington, DC.”

(I knew what was going to happen next…)

I pulled up their website and their “Washington, DC” address is a virtual office. That means they pay a few bucks a month to be able to pretend they are there. I sent that info. to the victim.

The victim replied that he knew that the person he was talking to “recently moved to North or South Carolina.”

I responded: “I doubt it. I think ‘Josh’ is a fake name and that he’s somewhere in Nigeria, the Philippines, India, or China.”

The victim replied, “No, I’ve had a Zoom meeting with him.”

I responded, “They can fake a human face (and it works perfectly), and fake an American accent using AI when on Zoom.”

I referred him to the link below, about an author who also had a Zoom meeting with a scammer who was using an actual Fox Entertainment executive’s face, and it looked REAL. The face and mouth moved correctly and the voice was also AI:

Episode 30: We Saved This Author from a $50,000 “FOX Entertainment” and “WGA” SCAM!

The victim started getting a bit huffy (I’ve seen that behavior before): “I’m not sure why you refuse to believe me that I actually met with the man in the photo, but please stop contradicting me.”

FYI: Meeting with someone on Zoom is NOT “MEETING” with somebody.

My final response:

I’m simply trying to help you. You’re not the first person who got personally offended when I was trying to teach them how these scams work. I’m not sure where that non-logical thinking comes from, nor the defensive words.

You got ripped off for $8K, you’re asking me where to report them, but you’re still thinking they’re “real.” I can’t help you anymore. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to but now you’re just being rude.

Good luck to you,

Angela

So, why is this person now defending the scammer? If getting scammed for $8K and admitting that isn’t enough, why would a victim then insist that the rest of the communications were legit? It’s likely a pride issue but it still made no sense to me so I researched it.

On Psychology Today:

Fool Me Once: Why Scams Leave People Feeling Foolish

This might help explain it: “Some victims were so overcome by a con artist’s voice and tactics that they felt they had been put in a hypnotic-like state, following orders without a sense of logic.”

And:

“There is no shame in trusting other people, but misplaced trust, or trying to only see the good in others, may occur in older age, especially so in early stages of dementia.”

Disclaimer: I have no idea how old the victim actually is but I looked at his website. He’s very handsome but he’s not a young fella.

So, then I went in a different direction. I Googled this: when someone defends a scammer after being scammed

According to Google’s AI: “When someone defends a scammer after being scammed, it’s often due to cognitive dissonance (psychological discomfort from conflicting beliefs), shame, or the scammer’s manipulation, not a true belief the scammer is good, so empathy, validation, and gentle questioning are key…”

I did do some “gentle questioning,” and provided the victim with lots of advice and proof. However, he kept getting more and more agitated so I left the conversation. I did give him this link:

11 Ways to Know If a “Publisher” or Other Service Provider is an Overseas Scammer (You’ll probably only need to check #1 to prove it!)

Don’t Shoot the Messenger!

Sadly, this isn’t the first time this has happened (far from it!!). Like Brian keeps telling me, “You can’t save the world.”

If someone keeps claiming a scammer is legit (even after being scammed!) there really is no help for them. I’m a very busy person and, like Brian said, I can’t save everyone. Thankfully, most victims do take my advice, and don’t argue with me. However, many have. And, that’s when I have to give up, and move on to the next victim. 🙁

RELATED

• Another Publishing Scam Victim Who CLEARLY Can’t Be Saved…from Himself
• BATTERED AUTHOR SYNDROME: Are YOU, Too, in Denial That You’re a Victim of a Publishing Scam? – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• How I Avoided Being Scammed by a Fake “Publisher” Running Ads on Facebook By Jason Meadors
• How the Fake Sony Pictures Tried to Scam an Author into Hiring a Fake Literary Agent
• DON’T BE DUMB! The Biggest Mistakes Writers, Authors, and Others Make

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