AI-generated Bookstagrammers Are Targeting Authors—and the Scam Could Cost Authors Money

Recently, one of our Books Forward authors was contacted on Instagram by “Bookstagrammer” @reads_jennifer. The account looks legitimate: It has more than 27,000 followers and posts regular book reviews. The request seemed legit, too: “Jennifer” DM’d the author expressing interest in her book and inquiring how to get a copy for a potential feature.

(5 Mistakes Authors Should Avoid on TikTok.)

If the author hadn’t been paying attention, she might have missed the red flags signaling that @reads_jennifer’s Bookstagram account is “fake” (allegedly).

First, although @reads_jennifer has a large following and gets hundreds of likes on many posts, there are hardly ever any comments. This suspicious lack of engagement for an account with more than 27,000 followers suggests that many of the followers are bots or inactive accounts—in other words, followers that the account holder has purchased.

Second, our book publicity firm did a Google reverse image search on “Jennifer’s” profile picture, and it’s been used elsewhere (and not by anyone named Jennifer, we noticed). Actually, “Jennifer’s” profile picture appears to be stolen from an influencer named Yaren Ebru Kalan (again, allegedly).

A closer look at “Jennifer’s” posts reveals that the book covers are photoshopped onto stock backgrounds. The books have a one-dimensional, weightless quality in the photos, and the background remains totally identical while only the cover image changes. It’s unlikely that a physical book is present in any of these photos.

Next, we Googled some of the featured books. While we did find that the books are real, our search led us to two other Bookstagram accounts, @reads.grace and @reads.rachel. We noticed all three accounts are very similar, reviewing the same books, using the same phrasing in their respective reviews (such as “beacon of hope”and “holistic approach” in the last example) and using the same stock backgrounds between accounts. It’s possible that these three accounts—and more like them—are run by the same person or group.

And it’s equally possible that the featured reviews are AI-generated text, scraped straight from the books’ synopses.

Finally, after “Jennifer” expressed interest in featuring our author’s book on @reads_jennifer, she later revealed it cost $35 for a feature and asked for our author’s PayPal information in the chat. Big red flag! 

While some legitimate reviewers require payment for a feature, “Jennifer’s” DM’d PayPal request is reminiscent of classic online scam techniques—she reached out first, not mentioning payment until later. Given “Jennifer’s” seemingly fake user photo, fake book posts, fake followers, and by-the-numbers similarity to other accounts, a “Bookstagram scam” seems likely.

With a growing catalog of instructional writing videos available instantly, we have writing instruction on everything from improving your craft to getting published and finding an audience. New videos are added every month!

Here are 10 tips for how to spot—and deal with—a Bookstagram scam:

Check the influencer’s posts to make sure they’re getting engagement (diverse comments from legitimate users). Don’t just look at likes and follower counts—followers can be bought. Check who has tagged the account. At the time of writing this, “Jennifer” seems to only be tagged by “Jennifer.” Compare this to our Books Forward account’s tagged section, where you can see we have been tagged by a variety of real Bookstagram friends.Check the influencer’s Stories—Is there evidence of a real person posting diverse content? Or, are their Stories nothing but Amazon links, where they likely get affiliate commissions for book purchases?Google the person’s name, account title, and/or email address if it’s available. A lack of viable results may be another red flag. When searched, a real person is typically referenced at least once or twice elsewhere online (another account, a blog, an article, etc). Reverse image search the post images and/or profile photo on Google. If the same photo is appearing under multiple unrelated account names (or if their profile pic is very clearly of a real person unrelated to the Bookstagrammer), it’s probably been stolen. If there are marked similarities between accounts that claim to be run by completely different influencers, then it’s likely those “influencers” do not exist. Keep a sharp eye on the posts themselves—Are the photos too similar? Do they seem photoshopped or fake? While some legitimate influencers may photoshop some of their photos, real Bookstagrammers are receiving physical copies of books and usually featuring them!Similarly, pay attention to the wording of the reviews. AI-generated text often has a certain formality to it, like an English major gunning for a good grade on their essay by using as many impressive words as possible. Could the text feasibly be an AI-rehash of the synopsis? Or does the Bookstagrammer inject their personality, opinions, and idiosyncrasies into the review, the way a real person posting on their real social media account for their real followers might do? This is a tricky one, but training your eye to spot AI-generated text is important and useful. Be skeptical if a reviewer asks for your PayPal information, especially if they weren’t upfront about charging for a review in the first place. Ignore, block, or report fake Bookstagram accounts to help prevent other authors from getting scammed in the future.

Does it matter if a Bookstagram account is “fake”, so long as the author gets featured? Sure, our author could have paid $35 to @reads_jennifer, and (presuming her payment info didn’t get stolen outright) may have gotten a potentially AI-generated review, with her cover photoshopped on a stock background on “Jennifer’s” account. But is that exposure really worth it? 

There is no real gain to being featured in front of fake followers and receiving little to no engagement on the post. If anything, scammy Bookstagram accounts crowd out legitimate influencer accounts.

Make sure you’re working with real Bookstagrammers: real readers who truly read the books they review. Who share them with engaged fans. And who won’t steal your money.