Angela Hoy and Brian Whiddon were interviewed for an OUTSTANDING article in TheDial.World by Snigdha Poonam. It’s a MUST READ! We explained to her why authors in the U.S. and other western countries are specifically targeted by foreign scammers.

The Lucrative World of Literary Scams: Why writers are the perfect target.

Here’s a snippet: 

In August, Danny de Hek, a New Zealand-based scam buster, forwarded me an Excel spreadsheet he received from a scammer in Karachi, Pakistan, with permission from the sender. Titled “LinkedIn Outreach 2026,” it has monthly data on targeted authors from March until August. One sheet has 403 names, each neatly labeled: New author, cookbook author, religious author, investigative author, poetry author, New York Times bestselling author and so on. Most are based in the U.S.; the rest are in Canada, Australia, or Europe.

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DEBBIE’S STORY: When I was younger, I believed I had the world by the throat. I attended college with the plans to be an athletic coach. Writing was something I played with but never took seriously. A slick road, a near-fatal car accident, irreparable nerve damage in my right hand and my world changed forever.

Stuck at home, my dreams as crippled as my right hand, I began taking my writing more seriously. I found that, through my imagination, I could create and escape into new worlds; a way to pass the time and stop the self-pity. I further thought that it would be a good way to perhaps earn a few bucks for my family, something we were running low on since my accident.

I read everything I could about writing, especially WritersWeekly.com’s newsletter, something I’ve continued to follow through the years. I perused each edition, anxiously looking for magazines taking submissions. But I found the articles about scammers alarming and heartbreaking.

After each newsletter, I’d say aloud, “That will never happen to me.”

Never say never!

Through the years, I have been blessed with having a few books published. And, yep, here came the scammers. A few were obvious — poorly written emails with bad punctuation and misused words. Others played to the ego: “Your book should be made into a movie!” or “It’s going to be the next best seller!”

Of course, I knew my peanut butter-loving character would never be the next Pippi Longstocking, and every email always ended with them promising they could “make it happen” if I paid money.

A lot of money.

Not willing to shell out enough dough to start a scammer’s college fund, I always ignored them.

Until recently.

Just the other night, I received an email about my book, If a Chicken Could Shop. The sender said that he worked for a school for the blind, and they wanted to purchase audio versions of the book for their reading program.

THAT tugged at my heartstrings. Most people familiar with me or my work know I have a special needs child, and am a former special needs advocate. My knee-jerk reaction was to help, but something seemed off.

I contacted Angela Hoy, whose experience with publishing scams helped confirm my suspicions. She advised me to check the email address from the sender. It was a Gmail address. Not from an educational institute. A scammer.

And if that wasn’t enough, the fellow had managed to misspell his own name. Twice.

Lesson learned. Never say never, and never underestimate a scammer’s ability to tug at your heartstrings.

ANGELA’S TURN:

Debbie contacted me through Facebook on Monday about this situation, and she sent me this screenshot:

Debbie had already done her research. There really is an Everbridge Academy. Per their website: “We offer a range of educational and support programs for children and adults who are blind or visually impaired, designed to build confidence, skills, and real-world opportunities.”

But, how did the scammer know that Debbie has a special needs child? Trust us! The scammers do their homework! They keep shared spreadsheets of VERY detailed facts about their intended victims, and they will stoop as low as they can go in their attempts to drain your bank accounts. That includes targeting you with sales verbiage about something they know you are passionate about!

Debbie had already noticed they were using a Gmail email address to contact her (that was the first red flag!). Employees at the REAL Everbridge Academy use this domain in their email addresses: everbridgeacademy.com

(Note: We contacted the real Everbridge Academy about this situation, but we haven’t heard back from them yet.)

I shared with Debbie the story of the “college” that contacted us, demanding a free copy (with security features removed!) of an ebook by one of our authors. Had we caved, and sent that free ebook, the “college” (it was a scammer) could have made copies of that ebook, put it on ebook pirate sites, put it up for sale, or they could have even republished a print edition of the book under their name.

We told the “college” they could purchase a copy of the ebook, and they responded by threatening to sue us under the “Americans with Disabilities Act.” HA HA HA! No school (or anybody) is entitled to a free product just because the “company” requesting a free item claims they will be for someone with a disability. I never responded to their fake legal threats.

It is downright DISGUSTING that scammers are taking advantage of honest, hardworking people by pretending to be helping disabled folks…all in the name of earning a buck.

UPDATE!

Debbie received another spam email from the scammers, who apparently forgot they’d already targeted her! This one below is asking about an audiobook for a COOKBOOK! We can’t make this stuff up!!!

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Judith ford <judithford314@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 13, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Subject: Audiobook Availability Inquiry – Amelia Frump Is Cooking Up a Peanut Butter Storm

Hello Debbie Roppolo,

I’m Judith from Everbridge Academy, where we support readers with print disabilities.

Amelia Frump Is Cooking Up a Peanut Butter Storm has been selected for an upcoming reading programme, and I wanted to check whether an official audiobook or audio edition is currently available.

If there is one, could you please let me know where it can be purchased?

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,
Judith

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Debbie Roppolo is an award-winning children’s author, editor, and special needs advocate with a passion for storytelling, creativity, and helping children discover the joy of reading. Growing up on the Blackland Prairie of Texas, Debbie’s childhood was filled with imagination, adventures, horses, and even tea parties with chickens! Those experiences continue to inspire the whimsical characters and humorous adventures found in her books. Through her writing, Debbie hopes to encourage young readers to laugh, dream, explore their imaginations, and discover that learning can be an adventure. Today, Debbie lives in the beautiful Texas Hill Country with her family and two dogs, where she continues to find inspiration in the world around her. Debbie’s most recent books are Horse in the House and If a Chicken Could Shop. Her other books can be found at https://debbieroppolo.com.

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