Warning to all Authors, do not fall victim to "professional editors."

[Nolff]

All my professional editors are my readers.

When your readers are betas:

 

[AllenL]

That's new, idk such scammers existed

 

[Robert.Hillmyre]

Got a message from this person. TaleTreaderr79, "
Hello! Your storytelling is full of emotion and vivid detail; it really draws me in. I admire the effort you put into each character and their journey. I actually have some ideas I’d like to discuss with you if you’re open. Could you tell me which platform you usually use for chatting? I hope your readers loved it as much as I did. I understand that you’re busy, and I would definitely share my ideas here if they weren’t visual. Unfortunately, there’s no option to share visuals here. Would DC work for you?"

Scammer, right?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Got a message from this person. TaleTreaderr79, "
Hello! Your storytelling is full of emotion and vivid detail; it really draws me in. I admire the effort you put into each character and their journey. I actually have some ideas I’d like to discuss with you if you’re open. Could you tell me which platform you usually use for chatting? I hope your readers loved it as much as I did. I understand that you’re busy, and I would definitely share my ideas here if they weren’t visual. Unfortunately, there’s no option to share visuals here. Would DC work for you?"

Scammer, right?

99.9% likely to be a scammer just from that blank profile alone.

 

[FRWriter]

Just another example, it happens almost daily by now.

Anyway... thanks, buddy.

 

[Anarchy666]

AI is going to pretty insane in just a few years, jussayin

 

[melchi]

A professional editor wouldn't switch tense mid paragraph like in these comments

 

[OracleInk]

Has your story received a really positive comment? Most likely in the very first chapter of your story?

Chances are:

1. You are an excellent author, and your first chapter is absolutely flawless and has drawn in a reader so deeply that he just had to comment instead of reading on.

2. It's an art scammer, especially if the person talks about "bringing your story to life" and mentions pathetic compliments like: "The writing is so vivid, I can see the scene in front of my eyes," and empty phrases like that.

3. It's an "editor scammer".

Without meaning to sound harsh, the possibility 1 is quite low, especially if your story is rather new or has a small readership.

So these art scammers have been around for a while now, and they usually want you to contact them via mail or Discord, which is a warning sign. Sometimes they also try to draw you in first before pulling out their "D's," namely their Discord tags.

Lately, a lot of "professional editors" have appeared, which I'd like to warn fellow authors of.

A few warning signs and red flags I noticed:

1. Account is brand new (less than a few weeks old)
2. Account has a very "clean and generic" name. Emma_Reads19 Julia_Editor361 (these are made-up account names, they do not exist... yet.) Most of them have FEMALE names, so beware of that.
3. Most of them are stupid and do not know or care that you can see their profile activities, which instantly gives away their identity as a scammer.

For example, I've received a comment from a scammer who has written 22 comments until now, all in the span of just a few days, and all under new stories exactly on the first chapter. Most of their comments are duplicates or just minor variations.

Just some examples, so you can recognize them (which shouldn't be really hard... I suspect they are recycled or 100% AI written).

"I enjoyed the opening and found the character voice easy to settle into. There were moments where the momentum dipped slightly for me as a reader, but the chapter still held my interest emotionally. Looking forward to seeing how things unfold."

"The opening establishes the premise effectively, and the character voice feels intentional. From a reader’s perspective, there were a few spots where the pacing softened, but the chapter overall remained engaging. I’d be interested in seeing how this builds in later chapters."

"I enjoyed the introduction and found the character’s voice consistent. Even with a few pacing lulls, the chapter held my attention and left me curious."

Included a screenshot of the suspected scammer whom I have just reported. I don't think name-calling is allowed, so I'll censor the name, just to be sure.

In the screenshot, you can see that one author has thanked the scammer for her "praise" and has received a comment in return, trying to rope him in with a "detailed set of notes that goes beyond what's practical to post in the comments" and a request to DM the person.

What you should do:

1. REPORT the scammer.
2. BLOCK the scammer.
3. NEVER ever give out personal information to the scammer.
4. Delete their comments... they are not real comments, they are an assault on your stories intregrity. No feedback is much more preferable than only scammer/AI feedback.

So next time you receive some glorious feedback, chances are you are not a godlike author... You are being scammed. Just be careful.

View attachment 46302

This post was really helpful. I’ve received quite a few comments like this too. At first, I honestly felt flattered. I thought maybe a professional reader had found my story, or even someone looking to collaborate. After reading your post, I finally get it — they’re scammers. Thanks for breaking it down so clearly. This will definitely help a lot of authors avoid falling for it.

 

[Robert.Hillmyre]

thank you. these scammers are so annoying lol