*Names and identifying details have been withheld to protect the agent and literary agency, as they are not affiliated with the scam.*

When it comes to weeding out email scams, writers today have their hands full. Ever since I began building a platform to market my book, my inbox has been steadily flooded with fraudulent, AI-generated offers—anything from marketing services and book club proposals, to promises to turn my novel into a Hallmark-worthy blockbuster movie. At this point, the block-and-delete button feels more like a reflex than a feature.

I pride myself on not falling for any of these solicitations, most of which are riddled with grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, and implausible claims. But on March 27, a credible-seeming email in the spam folder gave me pause. It appeared to come from a literary agency, and unlike the usual suspects, this one was polished and professional, down to the fancy company logo and website link.

The sender, E. B., claimed to be a literary agent with a UK-based literary agency. Her message offered flattering remarks about my book and included an invitation to submit my manuscript for possible representation. For an author, that kind of reach is the literary equivalent of a golden ticket.

One detail, however, stood out as a glaring red flag: the email came from a Gmail account. Legitimate businesses rarely use generic domains for professional correspondence.

Even so, a hopeful part of me wanted to believe it was real, so I decided to do a little digging.

A search on QueryTracker turned up no results for E. B.’s name, but a broader web search produced multiple pages with her professional credentials, including a link to the agency’s official website—a seemingly reputable firm with an impressive client list. E. B. was, indeed, part of the team. She was a freshly promoted junior agent, which explained her absence from QueryTracker.

I took that to be good news. E. B. was real. Better still, she was open to submissions.

 

And then, bam: the reality check. This warning in bold lettering appeared on the agent’s official profile:

Please note: [E. B.] will never send you an unsolicited email. Please be aware of scams – legitimate emails from anyone at [Literary Agency name] will have our domain in their email address. [E. B.] will never send professional emails from a Gmail account.

 

That was all I needed to know this was not my ‘big break.’

 

Below are the email messages from the “E. B.” impersonator:

______________________

From: [E. B.]

To: [my name]

Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2026

 Hi,

I hope this message finds you well.

 My name is [E. B.], and I am a Literary Agent with [name withheld] Agency in London. I recently had the opportunity to come across your work, and I was genuinely impressed by your narrative voice, character development, and overall pacing.

 At [name withheld], we are committed to supporting authors in building sustainable, long-term careers, and I am always keen to connect with writers who demonstrate both strong creative vision and commercial potential. Your work stood out as particularly compelling in this regard.

 I wanted to inquire whether you are currently represented. If you are not, I would welcome the opportunity to read more of your work and potentially discuss representation. Please feel free to share your manuscript or let me know the best way to proceed.

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

[E. B.]
Literary Agent
[name withheld] Literary Agency

On behalf of the [name withheld] team
London, United Kingdom
[www.[namewithheld]literaryagency.com]

__________________________

E.B. later followed up with this email:

From: [E. B.]

To: [my name]

Sent: Saturday, April 1, 2026

Hi [my name],

I hope you’re doing well and that your day has been going nicely. I also wanted to wish you an early Happy Easter! 🐣

I just wanted to quickly follow up on the message I shared earlier regarding your book MISTY DREAMS: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Mystery. I truly enjoyed coming across it and was genuinely interested in learning more about your work and journey as an author.

As I mentioned before, I’d love to understand a bit more about what you’ve done since publishing the book, particularly in terms of promotion, marketing efforts, or platforms you may have explored to increase its visibility and reach.

Could you share what strategies you’ve implemented so far to help promote the book and connect with more readers?

Your insight will really help me see how we might best support you moving forward.

 Warm regards,

[E.]

[E. B.]
Literary Agent
[name withheld] Literary Agency

On behalf of the [name withheld] team
London, United Kingdom
[www.[namewithheld]literaryagency.com]

——

How to protect yourself from impostors posing as literary agents.

Thanks to the poorly disguised email address, fake E. B.’s email was an easy catch, but some phony agents are creating very authentic-looking email domains using variations of the agency’s name. These schemes all have the same goal: defrauding writers of their money. So-called marketers rely on authors overlooking such discrepancies in their eagerness to get their work seen.

The easy one

If they ask for money, it’s a scam. It’s as simple as that.

Hover over the sender’s email address

Examine the ‘From’ email address. Look for misspellings, added characters, or slight variations in the domain name. A businessperson writing from a generic email account is a major red flag. Other links in the email may reveal suspicious URLs.

Do your due diligence

Scammers posing as literary agents are getting better at disguising themselves (also known as email spoofing). In these cases, the old adage When it looks too good to be true, it probably is still applies. Out-of-the-blue solicitations from agents are almost always fraudulent. However, with the explosion of AI, these scams have become more sophisticated and difficult to spot. Verify the sender’s credentials by searching industry databases and visit the agency’s official website.

One important rule: don’t respond

If there’s one thing you should absolutely not do, it’s reply to a scammer’s email. Even a quick response confirms that your email address is active, which can make you a bigger target for future attempts. It may also give scammers access to small but useful details, including your email signature, which can be used to craft more convincing phishing messages.

__________________________

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Josephine Strand is the author of Misty Dreams, a contemporary romantic mystery. She spent her childhood in South Africa, lived in her native Italy for several years, and is now a longtime resident of the United States. Her travels across three continents have deepened her love for the sea and the outdoors. She writes sweet contemporary romance with a touch of mystery and intrigue. When she’s not writing or absorbed in a gripping page-turner, she enjoys cooking and long walks in nature.

 

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