Dear Writer Friends,
I recently received an email from “Alyce Brielle Frick,” a name of a supposed book reviewer. The email raved about my book. It also included a short but compelling sob-story that grabbed my heart. After a few email exchanges, “Alyce” offered me stellar long-term book marketing services. I was enticed. I asked to see the person’s fees and services sheet.
I was quickly being pulled in to sign up for Alyce’s services.
Before I made a commitment, I prayed and slept on the offer before taking any action. (Thank you, Lord Jesus!)
The next day I thought, “Better check out this person before I take any further action.” (Thank you again, Lord Jesus!)
My Google search found comment links from Tik-Tok and Facebook, all positive. But one link that came up carried a big warning:
Alyce Brielle Frick is a fake. The sender is using AI information about you and your book to sound like “she” knows you, is a committed Christian, and “she” is also using AI to generate a nice photo of herself and to craft emotion-rich messages to engage your sympathy and trust.
I have safely pulled away from dealings with the sender of those emails.
Since AI-using scammers are now abundant, please be very cautious about offers and praises you receive in emails and messages. Some scammers will even impersonate a close friend or relative to convince you to act on their behalf. (For instance, give money or personal information.)
A suggestion from a real Christian podcaster (Thomas Umstattd,Jr.) exhorts you and me to talk with our friends and relatives about verifying identity by choosing a private word or phrase that you only share between yourselves, what I call a “relationship authenticator.”
Finally, pray with me:
“Dear heavenly Father, please thwart scammers by enforcing tighter security on users of phone numbers, emails, messages, websites, and the like. In Jesus’s holy name, Amen.”
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