Indie Authors, Stop Falling for These Social Media Scams!

With the rise of more independent and self-published authors, scammers are having a field day, taking advantage of new authors as they learn to navigate the publishing world. While on the face of them, many of these scams seem obvious, but for inexperienced, and likely frustrated, newcomers they might seem like the friendly helping hand they’ve been hoping for.
Digital Marketing/Book Publishing Scams
One of the most frequent scams I’ve seen on social media are those offering digital marketing or book publishing services. Not that digital marketing agencies are always scams, because I used to work with some of the top agencies when I was still consulting as a web analyst. The same goes for legit book formatters, cover designers, and editors (many of these scammers claim to do it all, at a fraction of the cost of professional agencies).
However, if someone has to send you a private message in order to sell their services to you, that is an immediate red flag. Any marketing agency worth their salt doesn’t need to “cold call” small, independent authors. Instead, they would invest their time marketing their services properly and should be busy enough servicing all the clients who need and want their services. The same goes for anyone offering editing, formatting, or graphic design services.
Most of these marketing scammers will make false promises, and sometimes they may even deliver some marketing copy or graphics (often generated through AI). However, any promises they might make toward increased sales will be bogus, and as soon as you catch on to the scam, they’ll disappear (along with your money).
If you check out their profiles, most have a banner on their profile proclaiming their digital marketing or book publishing expertise and include a list of services. However, they will also have few to no likes or followers. Some will have cleaned up their accounts very well (or created a new one), but others will still have some of their old friends and images, recently replaced with a professional looking, AI generated photo. The banners frequently have formatting issues and include spelling and other mistakes.

Some profiles will be more polished than others (I applaud those that actually put in some effort into their scamming activities). However, there are always telltale signs. Most of the time, their first and last names could work as a first name (as with the example of Lucy Edward below).

Also, on Facebook, many make the mistake of converting their profile into their business page instead of using Facebook Pages to set up a proper business profile. An actual Facebook Page won’t have a friends tab, instead they’ll have mentions, reviews, and reels.

Facebook/Meta Warning Scams
While I’m on the topic of Facebook, another common, and far more sinister scam is that of the Meta Warning Scams. These consist of receiving a DM from some vaguely named entity (like quality assessment in the screenshot below), with a warning that your account is about to be suspended, deactivated, or something equally scary. Along with this DM, you’ll often see the Meta logo and maybe a legit link to their privacy policy or terms and conditions.

The dangerous part is the link in the DM that promises something like a simple process to ensure continued access to your account. Never click these links as they are phishing for your personal information. If you look at the URL, you can see that it’s not one that belongs to Meta or Facebook.
After doing a little digging, I found the domain name is registered through Gransy s.r.o., a domain registrar in the Czech Republic. Not that there was any doubt, but this is clearly not associated with Facebook or Meta. When Meta suspends or terminates an account, they always send an email, and never a DM. They also never give users a warning, they just shut everything down, followed by an email.
The only way to get an account reinstated is to work directly with Meta support through the email account that contacted you, but be aware of phishing scams through email as well. If you’ve received an email from Meta stating your account has been terminated or suspended, make sure it actually has. If it hasn’t, then that email is also likely a scam. I haven’t received any, but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen.
Bestselling/Famous Author Scams
A more recent scam I’ve come across lately are scammers pretending to be bestselling authors. Once again, they will use DMs and proclaim they love your book(s) to get you to start chatting with them. Eventually, they’ll get around to the real reason they’re contacting you, talking up some fantastic digital marketer they know that could help you get your book on the bestseller lists, too. (You see where this is going, right?).
Often, these fake author profiles are being run by the same digital marketers to lend an air of legitimacy to their business. If they would put as much effort into learning the craft of marketing that they do in trying to scam people into believing they are marketing professionals, they might actually have a chance at success.
So, how to spot a fake? I’ll use this Stephen King profile as an example.

So, how can I tell this is fake? First, the banner image is unprofessional. It’s not properly sized, it’s low quality and pixelated, and most of the text is out-of-frame and unreadable. Next, there is no blue check mark (these still matter on Facebook). Finally, you can tell it’s a profile, not a business page. Someone as well known as Stephen King wouldn’t make a public profile like this. Instead, he’d have an official Facebook page instead.
Finally, if you go to Stephen King’s official website, there’s an FAQ that plainly states that Stephen King does not have a Facebook account.
If you’re ever sent a direct message (DMd) by a supposed author, always do a bit of research before engaging with them. Google their name, check out their website and see what their official social media accounts are (and if they even have any). Then also check their page/profile on the social media platform they DMd you from and see if they have things like blue check marks, well-designed graphics (bestselling authors will usually have a media team to help them set all that up).
Bottom line, be careful and take the time to research before engaging with anyone, especially if they are DMing you with unsolicited offers for services.
Lorri Meyer
Grayson,
Thanks for such an informative article on Facebook scams. A scam I encountered was when I received a “friend request” from my sister. I called her and asked her if she did this, she had no idea someone was trying to pose as her and friend all her friends. The name on the new account was ever so close to her name you really had to pay attention. It’s so easy to be scammed, especially for those who aren’t computer savvy or digitally challenged.
Thanks for your insight.
Keep on writing.
Lorri Meyer,
https://lorrimeyer.com