There's no end to scamming creativity
Here are two stories. The TLDR summary - AI attacks are getting better and better. Especially with people in the loop. If you’re looking for a great way to use AI, follow scammers. They have unlimited creativity. Beware.
The first started like a garden-variety AI-enhanced phishing scam. The first email from Denise Parker <denise.parker.official@gmail.com> stroked my ego and praised my cybersecurity background and pitched replacing my Amazon writeup for "Bullseye Breach" with A+ content. We interacted a few times, because her answers were better than the usual generic AI-generated stuff and she eventually asked me what stood in the way of my saying yes to her proposal. I told her trust, and so then she offered to do a video meeting. She also "accidentally" copied me on a response to somebody else and then apologized for the mistake. Which made "her" look more human.
We did the video meeting. Her video background was dark and offered nothing about where she was. The woman in that video acted very differently from the entity I exchanged emails with. She barely spoke. She acted afraid of something. The call lasted a few minutes, and I asked her to send samples of her work and I would consider it. I really was willing to take a look.
She sent these three links.
> As promised, here are a few Amazon pages with A+ Content examples I’ve worked on:
> Project Hail Mary: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GB58KD5
> Billy Summers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1982173629
> Fourth Wing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVDJ293G
None of these links show any content outside normal Amazon writeups and reviews. Some show video book reviews - but we would expect lots of video reviews for books from popular authors such as Andy Weir and Stephen King. Her time zone was GMT+1 and she said she’s in Africa. How likely is it that she produced content for those Amazon listings? That question was rhetorical.
We traded more emails and I finally said no. But she’s persistent, and nice about it, and she keeps insisting that these Amazon links show her A+ content work when there’s no such content in them. I’ve probably played this out to its conclusion. It’s hard to turn her down because she’s no nice, but then it’s also hard to part with money for no value. I have to keep reminding myself, I’m probably interacting with automation, and the person they put in front of that webcam could easily be a victim.
And then, a couple days ago, Anna Collins <info.anna.collins.23@gmail.com> emailed me with “A Question About Courage, Technology, and the Heart of Virus Bomb.” She wants to put me in front of her Cambridge Book Club to talk about “Virus Bomb.” No money - she promised. Her time zone is also GMT+1. Who knows - maybe this one really is real. No money, right?
We went back and forth a few times and set a date for Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 7 p.m. US Central time, GMT-5, or eight days from today. This just now dawned on me - fun with time zones. 7 p.m. my time is 1 a.m. the next morning her time. I must be a really popular guy for an audience to want to meet me in the middle of their night. Or maybe her book club in a US time zone. Yeah, right.
Well anyway, after going back and forth some more, she needs a headshot, flyers, and other promotional stuff to make this a really really really memorable event. Problem is, of course, that I don’t have a flyer specifically for this event. She sent samples of flyers for other “author spotlights,” and so I whipped up a flyer and sent it back. Naturally, it wasn’t good enough. The solution - she has a friend who can make me one. No pressure, but we’re behind schedule and we need these materials immediately to publicize this event. She sent me “Samuel’s” email, joelchukwudisamuel@gmail.com, and now I can work with Samuel to make a super dooper fantastic flyer. Or drain my bank account. I think I also played this one out as far as I want to go.
You can thank me for playing these out. Research for a guy who writes novels about this stuff.
Ya know - this just hit me. I wonder who is training who? By letting a few of these play out, I gain tactical training and blog material. But I also give training to these AI models to improve future scams. Hmm…
Greg