Lost in the plot: how would-be authors were fooled by AI staff and virtual offices in suspected global publishing scam

"An aspiring Australian writer met an apparent scammer face-to-face before realising she may have become a victim of a suspicious international publishing venture. Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre is now investigating the case of a website luring people seeking a foothold in the increasingly crowded space of vanity and self-publishing. The Guardian has uncovered similar suspicious websites operating in the UK and New Zealand, as well as two others operating within Australia."

"This apparent network of publishers using cloned websites, AI-generated staff and virtual offices across Australia, the UK and New Zealand includes websites trading by the names of Melbourne Book Publisher, First Page Press (UK), Aussie Book Publisher, Oz Book Publishers and BookPublishers.co.nz. The entity operating as Melbourne Book Publisher is confusing aspiring authors who think they are dealing with the well-established publisher Melbourne Books which is not a vanity publisher going so far as to use a near-identical name and its Australian Business Number (ABN)."

"The company appears to be linked to a similar operation based in London, First Page Press, with both pulling down parts of their websites after the Guardian contacted them with questions about the use of AI-generated content, including staff profiles and testimonials. First Page Press, which lists addresses in London and Melbourne, also lists books on its site that were actually published by a US-based self-publishing company, Atmosphere Press. Its CEO, Nick Courtright, told the Guardian he considered this brazen theft and has since issued a cease and desist notice to First Page Press and reported the matter to Scamwatch."

An aspiring Australian writer met an apparent scammer face-to-face and may have been targeted by an international suspicious publishing venture. Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre is investigating a website that lures people seeking a foothold in vanity and self-publishing. Similar suspicious websites operate in the UK and New Zealand, and two operate within Australia. The network uses cloned websites, AI-generated staff profiles and testimonials, and virtual offices under names including Melbourne Book Publisher, First Page Press (UK), Aussie Book Publisher, Oz Book Publishers and BookPublishers.co.nz. One site used a near-identical name and the Australian Business Number of an established publisher. Parts of implicated sites were taken down after contact and at least one US publisher has lodged legal and scam reports.

Read at www.theguardian.com