At Profile Books we take online safety seriously. We are aware of a fraudulent email scam that is currently targeting authors, in which the sender impersonates a member of the Profile Books editorial team. This particular scam also impersonates many other book publishers, not just Profile Books.

The emails invite recipients to discuss their work with a view to potential publication, in exchange for a fee. They purport to come from one of our team members using their real name, but in this recent case, the sender domain was @gmail.com. We would like to emphasise that these emails have no connection whatsoever to Profile Books or the individual editors.

Please be aware of the following:

• All genuine correspondence from Profile Books staff is sent exclusively from email addresses ending in @profilebooks.com. We do not use Gmail, Hotmail, or any other free email service for professional communications.

• Profile Books does not make unsolicited professional contact with writers via personal email addresses, and we never ask for fees.

• If you are ever in any doubt about whether a communication claiming to be from Profile Books is genuine, please contact us directly at [email protected] and we will verify it for you.

If you have already received one of these emails and have responded to it, we would urge you not to share any personal or financial information with the sender, and not to make any payments. If you believe you may have been defrauded, please report the matter to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre, at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. If you would like further guidance please consult this helpful guide from The Society of Authors.

When we become aware of fraudulent activity, we always take steps to have the fraudulent account reported and removed.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.