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# Scammers are impersonating literary agents to target unpublished authors
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/scammers-are-impersonating-literary-agents-to-target-unpublished-authors/
- Published: 2026-06-05T16:09:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-05T16:09:52.000Z
- Description: Literary agents and publishers have become preferred targets for AI-powered impersonation schemes because aspiring authors are emotionally vulnerable—desperate for representation and willing to pay upfront fees that legitimate agents never request.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-consumer, trust, privacy, platform dynamics

Source: [The Next Web](https://thenextweb.com/news/publishing-professionals-impersonation-ai-fraud-mark-gottlieb?ref=adjacent.media)

Literary agents and publishers have become preferred targets for AI-powered impersonation schemes because aspiring authors are emotionally vulnerable—desperate for representation and willing to pay upfront fees that legitimate agents never request. Scammers are shifting strategy away from financial institutions toward knowledge workers in creative industries, where verification barriers are lower and victims' desperation makes them susceptible to social engineering. The publishing industry's fragmented, relationship-driven gatekeeping structure makes it hard for newcomers to distinguish real agents from fakes, turning a professional credential system designed for quality control into a vulnerability.