In this essential PSA-style episode, Ricci and Ferol break down the growing wave of scams targeting authors — and how to protect yourself. From “too good to be true” book club invitations to fake Amazon warnings designed to spark panic, today’s scammers are using AI to craft convincing, personalized outreach. The hosts walk through the psychology behind these tactics, why even savvy authors can get caught off guard, and a simple checklist to help you identify red flags before you click or pay. They also share reputable resources authors can use to stay safe and stay informed. Whether you’ve received a suspicious email or simply want to prepare yourself, this conversation will help you trust your gut, slow down, and safeguard your work.

You'll learn:

• Why and how author-targeted scams have become more sophisticated
• The emotional psychology scammers use — joy vs. fear and the hooks/emotional techniques to look out for 
• How AI enables scammers to reference your characters, themes, reviews, and social content convincingly
• The most important red flags to watch for and what to do if you’re not sure something is legitimate 
• Why you should never pay via Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, crypto, or similar methods
• Trusted resources for checking whether something is a known scam (Writers Beware, Authors Guild, ALLi Watchdog Desk)
• How Written Word Media can help sanity-check suspicious emails 

Want to learn more ways to reach readers? Visit writtenwordmedia.com for author resources, book promotion tools, and more.

The Written Word Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.
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