Wire transfers and bank transfers (ACH transfers) are essentially the same thing except one takes longer to process than another. This article warns about both AND about using a check to pay for services.

This is one of the most important articles we’ve every published. If all authors (and literally everybody else) knew this information, the overseas publishing scam consortium, and other foreign scam networks, would quickly come to a halt. Please please please share the link to this post with all of your writing and author friends. 

Wire and bank transfers are common for high-end purchases, like making a down-payment and paying closing costs on your new mortgage. (However, even new home owners get scammed after receiving incorrect bank account info. from scammers just before they close on their home.)

There is NO REASON WHATSOEVER to use wire or bank transfers to pay for publishing, book marketing, website design, and almost every other service being promoted online now by overseas scammers.

It’s not a labor of love, but James’ Internet routine does consist of quickly scanning his “junk” (email) to ensure that an important message may have been inadvertently mislabeled and sent to that folder on his laptop.

There are several things James admits he will never fully understand: The electric grid, petroleum pricing (OPEC), and the stock market that gyrates wildly because of a sneeze in some obscure part of the world.

Fortunately, there are things that he does categorically understand, things that should never, EVER be acted upon. And you should, too!

For example, that “presidential promise” (email) to restore $250,000.00 to his recently hacked debit card, that retailer gift card that he just “won,” that casino payout pending his approval, and that ubiquitous ad informing him that his Gmail account and/or cloud storage will be deleted unless he acts immediately, to name just a few.

PHISHING FRAUDS

Equally as prevalent, and not as easily identified, are scam publishing, editing, ghostwriting, book marketing, etc. companies targeting authors (and many others scam entities, including romance scammers) who are phishing for your personal banking information. Despite their grandiose promises, there is no actual intent to take your labor of love (your book) to the next level, create a bestseller, or ink a movie deal. And, the other types of scam services being offered won’t be done, either. These predatory scammers simply want your personal banking information to steal your money. Hit your pause button! FULL STOP.

REPEAT AFTER US! NEVER TRANSFER MONEY FROM YOUR BANK ACCOUNT! EVER!!! 

Wire/bank transfers are essentially impossible to undo. Once you send money to a scammer from your bank account (and even using a check, more on that below), they instantaneously move that money, often more than once, to evade tracking by authorities. That money quickly ends up in a bank account in Pakistan, the Philippines, India, China, Nigeria, or elsewhere. And, once that happens, your money is GONE. And, it happens in a nanosecond! You can submit reports to the police and the FBI until your fingertips bleed but you are NOT getting your money back.

That’s why scammers want you to use that method of payment! NEVER, EVER, EVER send a bank transfer for publishing (or any other) service! We can not preach this enough!

Some may offer you a “discount” if you wire them the money versus using a credit card, Paypal, Zelle, or another online service. DON’T DO IT!!! They’re not going to provide you with services anyway. They will take your money and you will NEVER be able to get it back.

ALSO AVOID SERVICES LIKE PAYPAL AND ZELLE WHEN PAYING A SO-CALLED PUBLISHER OR OTHER “SERVICE PROVIDER”

Zelle, in particular, is often used in scams. Those transactions are also very difficult to reverse. The funds are also quickly moved along the pipeline. If Zelle can’t get the money back, you’re out that cash. It’s less common with Paypal but that happens as well.

An author we know received a payment request through Paypal from an unknown woman (we’re certain it was a man). She/he was requesting $750. The author had never done business with that person, had never heard of him/her, and had certainly never hired that person to do anything for him.

The person (scammer) then filed a claim with Paypal. The author smelled a rat, and instantly transferred all of the money from his Paypal account to his bank account.

Sure enough, that same day, Paypal deemed the charge “legitimate,” sent the scammer the money, and the author then had a negative balance in his Paypal account. When he received the email from Paypal, he immediately drove to his bank, and closed his account before Paypal could suck that money away from him. He then wrote to Paypal, told them what he had done, and requested they immediately close his Paypal account. We’re not sure if they ever did that but he never used that account again, and Paypal was never able to get the money from him. If he’d not been online checking his email while that was happening, he’d have lost $750!

This is an example of how Paypal can help scammers screw over legitimate users, too, simply through lack of common sense (it was CLEARLY a scam charge), or because their automation tools for research are sorely lacking.

We recommend you also not use any other forms of electronic transfer from any money services when paying someone online.

THE SECOND MOST DANGEROUS PAYMENT OPTION – MAILING CHECKS!!!

We’ve actually heard from scam victims who wrote checks, and the scammer had someone (a money mule) drive to the victim’s house to pick up the check. Talk about desperate on behalf of the scammer! They want that money RIGHT NOW…before you have a chance to tell someone about it (because that someone would tell you it sounds like a scam)! If someone asks you to write them a check, and then says they’re having someone go to your house or business to pick it up, the flag can’t be any redder than that!!!

Does having someone local available to pick up a check mean the scammer is in the U.S.? Nope! Click on that link above to read more about money mules.

Now, think about what people see when you give them your personal or business check:

1. Your name, address, and possibly your phone number

2. Your bank’s name.

3. Your bank account number.

4. Your routing number.

If you’ve been conversing with the person via phone/text or online, they may have, unbeknownst to you, sent you malware, and obtained your bank account login information from your laptop or cell phone. If they have that, and all of the information above, they can wipe out your bank account in mere seconds! For this scenario, it doesn’t have to involve a paper check at all. However, giving a paper check to a scammer can result in this happening, and makes it far easier for them to hack into your account if they are using different means/software to get information from you.

When you hear stories of scam victims having their bank accounts emptied, it’s either because of this, or they were simply hacked (didn’t provide a paper check), or because the victim actually gave their bank account login to others. In some cases, a company that holds that information for their customers gets hacked.

Don’t EVEN get me STARTED on the romance scam victims who actually give their bank account login info. to strangers online who they’ve never “dated” in person…

Another type of scam is when they will “wash” your check, and make it appear to be written for a lot more money than it was. That happened to Angela several years ago. She mailed a check and it was stolen en route (she was certain it was a post office employee). When the check “cleared” her account, it was for several thousand dollars more than the actual check. She no longer uses checks at all.

THE ONLY SAFE BET? CREDIT CARDS!

We wrote CREDIT CARDS. We did NOT write debit cards! If you use your debit card, and if it’s not backed by protections from Visa, Mastercard, or another major credit card service, your money will be gone.

ONLY use a credit card to pay for things online. PERIOD!

If a company says they don’t accept credit cards, or if they tell you their merchant system “is down,” it’s a scam. Plain and simple. However, even if they DO accept credit cards (many scammers do), that does NOT mean they are legitimate.

Using a credit card when paying for any service is, by far, the safest method. Is it 100% full-proof? No. Your bank or credit card company might determine the “charge” was legitimate, forcing you to spend time writing correspondence, and providing proof that you were scammed. Worse, a scammer can contest your chargeback, and that can take time.

If too much time goes by before you submit a chargeback, you could be out the money entirely. You typically have 60 to 120 days to issue a chargeback but, the sooner you do it, the better! However, know that, if the scammer closed their merchant account (or lost it because they were labeled fraudsters), took the money, and ran, your bank or credit card company might make up one excuse after another about why they can’t credit those funds back to your account.

What if the bank or credit card company doesn’t rule in your favor? We’ve heard of that happening. Angela actually watched a news segment today about a woman whose credit card information was used by someone else, and the bank insisted that the woman was the one who used the card. She was not. They’d mailed her a new card and it never arrived. Someone stole it en route, activated it, and started using it. It wasn’t until the local news station got involved that she got her $8K back. If your bank plays hardball like that, you could lose that money. However, that is rare.

At BookLocker, we let customers (authors and book buyers alike) choose if they want to pay with a credit card or via Paypal. And, for high-earning authors, we offer monthly payments of their royalties through bank transfers. However, those choices are completely optional for each person we work with. By that point in the publishing process, their book is already on the market so they know they can trust us. Also, they know that BookLocker IS located in the U.S., that it’s 27 years old, and has an excellent reputation.

All of this advice is not just for authors regarding possible publishing scams. It’s for anyone who is doing business online, including people who are doing online dating. If you’re doing the latter, and if you’re sending money to someone you’ve never met in person, you need to immediately contact a friend or relative and ask for help. Social Catfish can also assist you.

And, no, we get nothing for referring scam victims to that wonderful service. If you want to see how the romance scams work, watch a few of their YouTube videos. Warning: They are extremely addictive!

RELATED

• What to Do If You’re a Victim of Wire Fraud
• BEWARE! Is A So-Called “Publisher” Asking YOU to Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement? – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• EPISODE 30: We Saved This Author from a $50,000 “FOX Entertainment” and “WGA” SCAM!
• EPISODE 31: A Brave Publishing Scam Victim Shares Her Story After Losing $18K
• EPISODE 32: Save Yourself THOUSANDS! Our Scam-Detection Process Explained Step-by-Step!
• EPISODE 33: Tough 91-Year-Old Author of 5 Books Refuses to Bow to Scammer’s Extortion Attempts!

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!