# Like many authors, I’m bombarded by scam fan mail. I wasn’t prepared for what would happen when I wrote back

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/like-many-authors-im-bombarded-by-scam-fan-mail-i-wasnt-prepared-for-what-would-happen-when-i-wrote-back/
- Published: 2026-11-01T12:00:12+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-01T13:33:28+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/nov/01/like-many-authors-im-bombarded-by-scam-fan-mail-i-wasnt-prepared-for-what-would-happen-when-i-wrote-back
- Topics: Culture

## Key points

- 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.

## Summary

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.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.