Like many authors, I’m bombarded by scam fan mail. I wasn’t prepared for what would happen when I wrote back
The novelist receives almost daily emails from apparent admirers offering to promote his books in exchange for money. He says generative AI has made these scams more convincing, using detailed praise and references to authors’ work, and that their sophistication raises questions about how writers’ books have been used to train AI systems.
After receiving a message from someone claiming to run the Berlin Book Club, he decided to engage with the sender instead of blocking them. They discussed payment: the sender requested Cash App or a bank transfer, while the novelist insisted on paying in cash. The article describes this exchange as taking a darker turn, but the supplied text ends before explaining what happened next.
In short
- Authors are receiving personalised, AI-written scam fan mail.
- The messages offer book promotion in exchange for money.
- One novelist’s attempt to engage the scammer took a darker turn.
Explained simply
Authors often receive unsolicited emails from people claiming to be readers, book clubs or publicity services. Some offer to promote books for a fee, though the sender’s identity and the promised service may be difficult to verify.
Generative AI can produce fluent, personalised messages that refer to an author’s books, making deceptive approaches seem more credible. The issue also raises questions about how published writing is collected and used to train AI systems.
The novelist is one of many writers targeted by these messages, while the people behind them may be hard to identify. The exchanges can involve requests for payment through money-transfer services or bank accounts, so they touch on both online fraud and authors’ concerns about their work.