The most prevalent tactic in use by Facebook and Instagram publishing predators (scammers running ads on the sites) is an offer guaranteeing 100% satisfaction, or a guarantee of becoming a New York Times Best Seller.

Of course, those are both lies they tell authors to try to get money FAST, before the author knows they’ve been duped. If a Facebook or Instagram publishing predator (or the predator’s website) guarantees your 100% satisfaction (money-back guarantee!), or guarantees you will achieve New York Times Best Seller status, your internal radar should go into overdrive (alarm!), BECAUSE IT’S A SCAM!

Case in Point: Best Sellers, Inc. / BestSellersInc.com. According to Facebook, their page managers are in PAKISTAN. Google doesn’t show them at their “U.S. address.” They have a horizontal, moving strip of text on their website that claims, “Ready to see your book in the NYT’s Bestseller List? Let’s Do It!”

No one can legitimately guarantee such an outcome! In addition, like many of the scammers exposed by WritersWeekly, their website was registered in ICELAND. And, their website has covers for books they did NOT publish, including one by Food Network TV celeb Ina Garten. FRAUD, FRAUD, FRAUD!!!

Despite only having “existed” for just over a year on the worldwide web, and four months on Facebook, Best Sellers, Inc. boasts of being in business 7+ years, with 1,000+ satisfied authors, and 1,500+ successfully published books. MORE MALARKY! When a company is clearly flouting fraud in this manner, never, EVER believe the (fake!) 5-star reviews about them online. Remember to never trust 5-star reviews on TrustPilot. There are thousands and TrustPilot seems to just not care!

But, wait!  I took their “guarantee” scam to another level. During our Zendesk dialogue, I asked their Senior Publishing & Marketing Consultant, “Joshua Myers” (Don’t be fooled! They all use American sounding names!), whether Best Sellers, Inc. guarantees 100% satisfaction during our Zendesk dialogue.  Unequivocally, he responded, “Yes we do.”

I can guarantee you that, no, they don’t!

Dear, Lord.  I must note that, yes, this Pakistani Predator is currently running ads on Facebook. Meta Platforms, Inc. (the owner of Facebook and Instagram) is still knowingly profiting from massive fraud on its websites. 

My dialogue with “Joshua” ended with my exit strategy, a guise of having to join a conference call. I gave “Joshua” my personal email. Intent upon ensnaring and disemboweling me in his textbook fraud, “Joshua” sprang into action by emailing me. I did not respond.

This past week was maddening as Facebook was deluged with another tsunami of scams at a level that I have not seen in 17 months of predator hunting. It is beyond dumbfounding. Worse? Federal AND state law enforcement have done NOTHING. We report the scammers again and again, and are ALWAYS met with silence.

If guarantees of Best Seller Status or 100% Satisfaction appear truly genuine, one simple move will reveal that such offers are disingenuous, and merely a ruse or trap. Ask the company to place your payments in escrow (an escrow agent of your choosing) until either promise is achieved. They will, of course, refuse. They will, instead, request you wire money to them (one such scammer offered to have someone “pick up a check” from the author’s house!). NEVER wire money to a company. ALWAYS use a credit card so you will have a much better chance of getting your money back once you realize you’ve been duped. If the company claims to not take credit cards, or uses the old “our credit card system is broken” excuse, THEY’RE A SCAMMER.

Offers of a guaranteed New York Times Bestseller, and guarantees of 100% satisfaction are the functional equivalent of an inarticulate grunt or roar that are wholly without any value. Mere bullshit.

If YOU have been scammed, REPORT IT! 

• authorfraud@fbi.gov
• criminal.division@usdoj.gov
• WritersWeekly
• Victoria Strauss at WriterBeware
• Legal Investigations at Meta: LegalInvestigations@meta.com
• Meta’s head legal counsel, Jennifer Newstead: jnewstead@meta.com

RELATED

• FRAUD ALERT: Why 5-Star Reviews on Trustpilot Can NOT Be Trusted – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• “Celebrity Author” Impersonators Are Fooling Unwary (Real!) Authors
• WHEN WILL IT STOP?! Meta (the owner of Facebook and Instagram) Now Accused of Profiting from Human Trafficking! – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• Fraudulent “Recovery Firms” and “Law Firms” Are Scamming Previously Scammed Authors By James M. Walsh, Esq.
• Why Some Authors Forget Their Common Sense in the Drive to Get Published – by James M. Walsh, Esq.

JAMES M. WALSH, ESQ. is a former Navy JAGC officer and a recipient of the American Bar Association’s coveted LAMP Award for excellence in military legal assistance practice. A rolling stone, J.M. has globetrotted most of his adult life. After the military, J.M. pursued commercial real estate development, leasing, and asset management. He resides in Catania, Sicily. He spent almost twenty years in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Luzerne, Erie & Lackawanna Counties. His handiwork as an editor and author is interspersed throughout this novel. Leo A. Murray fondly refers to J.M. as his collaborative, literary ‘Coach’ or ‘Lieutenant.’ Agnes claims that he has gypsy in his heart and rabbit in his feet.

James’ thriller, Maximum Impact, written with co-author Leo Murray, was published by Abuzz Press.