By : Lucy Hoblyn.
A phishing scam targeting emerging and self-published authors has been uncovered by the organizers of Knowlton’s Literary Festival. Festival organizers issued an urgent warning and notified authorities after it was discovered that fraudsters were using the Festival’s name to try to trick people by email into sharing personal and financial information.
How the scam was discovered
The scam came to light when one of the authors targeted contacted the Festival to follow up on fraudulent email invitation. The invitation perfectly mimicked the official wording used by the festival this year, including sharing the festival website, but there were two red flags: it was sent from a slightly different email address, and the book praised in the message did not actually belong to the author named. At least six new authors are known to have been targeted by the scammers.
Festival takes action
The Festival immediately posted warnings on its website and social media channels and contacted the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for guidance. It also filed an abuse report with Google.
Local author Maurice Crossfield says this is a growing trend, noting similar tactics used against other literary associations. Crossfield says these scams are designed to hook victims before demanding upfront fees for administration or travel to “secure” the booking.
These fraudsters are maliciously preying on new, self-published authors, Festival organizers said. Being invited to a festival is a massive milestone and exploiting that excitement is cruel.