Ask The Expert

“Did you sell my phone number to a scammer?!” No, but your phone company probably did!

October 6, 2017

“Did you sell my phone number to a scammer?!” No, but your phone company probably did!
Print Friendly

Q –

Angela,

I got a call on my home phone from someone at (name removed). Lots of noise in the background; spoke with a foreign accent. He knew my first name, and said he was interested in promoting my books. From what I’ve read on the Internet, it’s a scam.

How did he know all three: my name, my home phone number, and the name of my publisher? The only time I have given out my home phone number is when I signed the publishing contract.

L.

A –

We do not, nor have we ever, sold/given our authors’ or writers’ contact info. to anyone. Period.

Anyone can find self-published authors on Amazon by searching for a specific print on demand publisher, and then finding their books. They then search for the author’s name in a search engine to find the author’s contact info. It’s very simple.

Within seconds, I found your name, phone number, the names of your relatives, and more on nuwber.com.

Your phone company (AT&T) may have sold your info. to them as it says “AT&T landline.”

That’s just a free tool on the Internet. Professional marketers have other resources they use to find the contact info. for folks. And, with your address available at the sites above, they can even see a picture of your house on Google maps.

Angela

RELATED:



The Do-It-Yourselfer's Guide to Self-Syndication


Practical resource outlining the self-syndication process, step-by-step. Packed with detailed information and useful tips for writers looking to gain readership, name recognition, publication and self-syndication for their column or articles.







https://writersweekly.com/books/4693.html



 



90+ DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book's Daily Marketing Plan by Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Promoting your book online should be considered at least a part-time job. Highly successful authors spend more time promoting a book than they do writing it - a lot more.

We know what you're thinking. You're an author, not a marketer. Not to worry! We have more than a decade of successful online book selling experience under our belts and we're going to teach you how to promote your book effectively online...and almost all of our techniques are FREE!

Online book promotion is not only simple but, if you have a step-by-step, day-to-day marketing plan (this book!), it can also be a very artistic endeavor, which makes it fun for creative folks like you!

Yes, online book promoting can be EASY and FUN! Let us show you how, from Day 1 through Day 90...and beyond!

 



BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts - by Angela Hoy



Peek over the shoulders of highly successful, published authors to see how they landed publishing contracts worth $10,000 to $100,000! An enticing yet professional book proposal is the key!

BONUS! Successful ghostwriter, Anton Marco, shares his secret for landing ghostwriting clients. Don’t miss Anton’s real ghostwriting contract at the end of this book! It provides an example of what he charges and the payment terms he requires from each client.

One Response to "“Did you sell my phone number to a scammer?!” No, but your phone company probably did!"

  1. Sarah Bates  October 9, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    I got one of those calls from a publishing company that also had a “PR firm” wanting to help me sell books. I told the caller to send me a proposal and a case history. What arrived was a document with a huge fee (over $2,600) and a proposal with typos! I responded that I could not manage a fee that high, but more importantly, a proposal with typographic errors.