When Hope is a Weakness

I think it is abhorrent that scammers use one of the most precious human traits as a crowbar to their own selfish desires.

Since starting my Author profile on a few social media platforms, everyone is a self-marketer these days, I have observed the rampant invasion of greedy and heartless farming accounts, out to lure hopeful writers from their money, respect, and creativity. So called Beta Readers, Editors, Publishers, Cover Artists, Layout professionals, and more, are stupidly prolific. One might think that there are more of these then there are actual writers, and a common theme is their blatant use of AI imagery.

They often look very similar using the same templates, styles, and bio language, almost as if generated by some automated algorithm. If you connect with them, they ALWAYS message you first, with some trite about how they love your work, often without actually mentioning what you have done, ask what genre you write in, or other vague variations. If they ask anything that is already in my bio, I usually suggest they read that. It seems these AI accounts can’t… yet.

Occasionally I have used an AI prompt like query in these messages to see what happens. It is amusing to watch an AI pretending to be human answer a prompt without question or thought, full of the usual flowery language.

That is not to say there aren’t legitimate people out there in these categories, but they are operating in a very diluted pool of fakery.

Now I don’t know exactly where I am going with this, and it is not likely to be read widely, it is just so depressing to think that these individuals are smashing a bright spark of humanity in their selfish pursuit of whatever they think it is they are gaining. Hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

That said, when one is led by hope alone, one might say it is blind hope. I would love to somehow imbue these hopeful people with a sense of caution and respect for the dangers of the world of the Internet.

Here’s what I do with most of my social media accounts;

• Lock down who can message you. Friends only or no-one. This is the equivalent of putting a No Junk Mail flag on your inbox, with teeth.
• Follow or connect only with those accounts you feel you can trust and/or like. You do need to be a little self-interest here. Do not feel you have to fallow EVERYONE that follows you. People who play that game are in it only for the gaming of the algorithm.
• Don’t give anything freely. Money, your time, a copy of your manuscript, anything. An offer of an exchange of services/products will shut down a scammer more often than not.
• Do not offer personal details. Period. Unless you know the person very well, do not offer up anything personal. Even if you do think you know them, use extreme caution.
• Use the BLOCK option, and often. As soon as you any sense of unease, block. Better to be safe than sorry in this world.

Observe, learn, and protect your creative inspiration. Don’t lose hope to another’s greed.