With the help of AI, cybercriminals are pulling data from published authors and their public academic profiles, book reviews, and publication histories to create targeted phishing campaigns. They will use that information to create flattering emails that appear to be from legitimate literary agents, other authors, publishing houses or other University colleagues.
These AI-generated scams often include detailed information about the real author’s published work, such as quotes or specific references to the subject, to create a false sense of trust.
Once a relationship is established, there is typically a pitch offering some service to help enhance the real author’s publication, in the form of promotion, additional publishing or other schemes, all in exchange for a fee.
You should never pay upfront for these types of services because legitimate, reputable literary agents will not charge fees to authors for publishing, promotion or representation. Be suspicious of solicitations and always verify any contact through a reliable source, rather than responding directly to the email.
If you do receive an email like this, use the Report Phishing button in Outlook or forward it to phishing@clemson.edu.
