My Inbox - and maybe yours too

Is Your Email Like This Too?

Lately, my inbox has become something else entirely.

Every day, I receive polished offers—book promotions, film interest, marketing help. They sound professional. Flattering, even. But something feels off.

I believe many are A.I.-assisted—designed to sound just convincing enough.

And I don’t think I'm the only target.

Spam and "Phishing" is Everywhere.

You’ve probably seen your own version:

Emails from “your bank”
Texts about a package you didn’t order
Warnings about locked accounts
Urgent messages pushing you to act fast

According to the FTC, Americans lost over $10 billion to fraud in 2023—and the numbers keep rising. Text scams are growing fastest, and A.I. is making messages harder to recognize.

What I Watch For:

In my case, the messages often involve books—offers to promote, publish, or “discover” my work.

They usually share the same signs:

Vague praise
A sense of urgency
A path that leads to payment

A Few Simple Rules:

I’ve become more careful—

I don’t click unexpected links
I don’t respond to urgency
I verify things directly
I pause before acting

I’m seeing more scams and malicious posts in phone texts and on Facebook too—fake profiles, questionable ads, unfamiliar messages.

If your social media and email look anything like mine, it's probably crowded with messages like these.

I try to help my family and friends defend themselves by spreading the word: be suspicious, and careful what you click!

Feel free to share this newsletter. Stay safe and well!

You may recognize these symbols for a Facebook Message and a Notification. Only they are not. The authentic Facebook symbols show in the upper right corner. The symbols with the red circles are in a sponsored ad. And clicking them freezes your computer!

An Honest-to-Gosh Real Book Offer (99 cents)

For the next few days (through April 22) the ebook of Dell Zero is just 99 cents. It's a dystopian story and one of my favorites. It's also free in Kindle Unlimited.

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