We are aware of reports that fraudsters are impersonating Bloomsbury staff, literary agents and Bloomsbury authors in an attempt to target writers, illustrators and others in the wider publishing community. These fraudsters often make false book acquisition offers or propose literary services and eventually may request payment or ask for sensitive financial information. Some fraudsters also target job applicants pretending to represent Bloomsbury.

These communications are fraudulent. They do not come from Bloomsbury.

Impersonation of Bloomsbury employees

Fraudsters are posing as Bloomsbury employees via email, social media, and phone calls in an attempt to deceive writers and illustrators into believing that Bloomsbury is interested in publishing their work. They may create fake websites, contracts, letters of interest, and other documents that can include Bloomsbury’s name, logo, or the names and branding of our imprints. They send messages from fake email addresses designed to closely resemble Bloomsbury’s official domains pretending to be Bloomsbury staff.

Please note that the following are NOT legitimate Bloomsbury domains but are a few examples of the many fake email domains used:

This list is not exhaustive. Look out for email addresses that include variations or misspellings of Bloomsbury’s company name or the names of its imprints.

Be cautious of any message or email claiming to come from a Bloomsbury employee or representative if it is sent from a Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, or any other commercial email service. Bloomsbury editors and publishers never contact writers or illustrators using personal email accounts.

Legitimate Bloomsbury emails will only come from a @bloomsbury.com, @headofzeus.com, @abc-clio.com, @ospreypublishing.com or @hartpub.co.uk. Even then some impersonators are able to imitate our official email addresses, so trust your instincts, irrespective of email addresses and websites. Keep an eye out for suspicious behaviour, in particular in respect of any request for payment or disclosing financial details, which is a sign that the email is fraudulent. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Author impersonation

Fraudsters may also impersonate Bloomsbury authors in an attempt to scam other writers, often by expressing interest in their work and initiating conversations through social media or email. After several conversations, they may request personal information or offer to read, review, or provide a foreword for a manuscript in exchange for a fee. They may also ask you to pay a fee to take some kind of training course as a step toward becoming published.

Recruitment

Fraudsters may create fake job applications or send messages posing as Bloomsbury representatives to mislead people into believing they are interviewing and hiring job candidates or contracting freelance work on Bloomsbury’s behalf.

Bloomsbury does not offer freelance positions on social media and does not ask freelancers to communicate via text or messenger apps like Telegram or WhatsApp, or personal email accounts.

Bloomsbury job postings are listed on the Current Opportunities page of the Bloomsbury website and please check our Bloomsbury LinkedIn page.

Helpful tips

• Trust your instincts. If something feels suspicious, do not click links or open attachments. Many scams involve fake forms or payment links that can steal information or install malware. Never send payments or share banking details. If you believe you are dealing with a scammer, stop responding and report the incident to law enforcement.
• Bloomsbury does not solicit unsolicited manuscripts. If you are contacted unexpectedly with an offer that seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.
• Bloomsbury will never ask for payment to review a manuscript or to enter into a publishing agreement with an author. Any request for a fee payment is a major red flag.
• Watch for signs of pressure or urgency. If the sender claims you must act immediately, threatens that you might lose an opportunity, warns you not to contact Bloomsbury directly, or provides excuses for not using an official Bloomsbury email address, these are strong indicators of fraud.
• Fraudsters often use misspellings or slight variations of Bloomsbury’s domain or imprint names or email addresses. Examine the sender’s email carefully for extra letters, unusual spellings, or other subtle differences.
• Bloomsbury staff and representatives do not contact authors or illustrators using personal email accounts. Be cautious of any message claiming to be from someone at Bloomsbury if it comes from a Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, or other commercial email provider. 
• Be alert to phishing attempts. Phishing involves emails or SMS messages designed to mislead recipients into revealing sensitive information or clicking malicious links. These links may install ransomware or other harmful software that can compromise or block access to your device.

Resources

Please contact us at CorporateCommunications@bloomsbury.com with the headline ‘Reporting Fraud’.

In the US, if you have been a victim of a fraud, we encourage you to report it here: FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/

Federal Trade Commission (FTC): https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ or https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/scam-alerts

For other tips on avoiding and reporting fraud in the US, you can contact the following organisations: Help the FTC fight impersonation scams | Consumer Advice and Department of Justice | Homepage | United States Department of Justice