Someone is pretending to be us — here's what to look out for. - Reedsy

Hi there,


I recently discovered several scam sites impersonating Reedsy in order to con authors out of thousands of dollars. Yesterday, I confronted one of them over the phone — and you can watch that right now.

In this video, I walk you through these scams and what the fake sites look like — and share the moment when I rang a scammer without telling them who I was (until I did).

WATCH THE VIDEO

Staying Safe

These services are known to contact authors and scam them out of thousands of dollars. However, they are easy to spot. Here's what every author needs to know to stay safe.

1. We never do direct outreach

If someone emails or calls you claiming to be Reedsy, treat it as a red flag immediately.

2. We don't have a phone number

Anyone calling you from "Reedsy" is not us.

3. We only use @reedsy.com email addresses

If it's coming from a Gmail, Hotmail, ProtonMail, or AOL (shudder) address, it's a scammer.


If in doubt, contact us at support@reedsy.com, and we'll confirm whether you're dealing with the real thing.


We've also put together a full guide to the kinds of publishing scams that target authors — from vanity presses to fake writing contests — so you know exactly what to watch for.

These scammers are specifically targeting authors at the most vulnerable, exciting moment in their writing journey. The best thing we can do is make sure as few writers as possible fall for it — so if this is useful, please pass it on.


Stay safe out there,

Martin, Chief Scammer Catcher @ Reedsy