Beta Reader Group discussion
Authors Seeking FREE Betas
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ATTENTION: Spammers and scammers in the group
Olivia wrote: "As you’ve probably noticed, recently there has been a surge of spam and scam activity within our group. Certain individuals have been posting advertisements inappropriately across multiple folders,..."Yes, I had one yesterday - I had opted for paid betas because I thought they would be more honest! Ha. This man was using a woman's name and she checked out on FB as a real person. I was surprised that a woman in a completely different job and country would be working as a beta reader but we went right through to the paypal part when suddenly I was not paying the woman but another completely unrelated man. At this point I checked with a police friend about the post and he said classic spam, so I removed my work and blocked the man. My police friend said that it is probably not the work or even the small amount of money they want but personal details that they can use for further spams and thefts.
Oh wow! I'm glad you were about to spot it fast Gina! Unfortunately Facebook is riddled with spammers and scammers. They're everywhere! It's so annoying and draining that these bad eggs taint the reputation of good paid betas. If you want to try again, there are numerous paid betas in this forum. Please be careful though as we're also dealing with an infestation of scammers and spammers.
Thank you and Goodluck!
J R wrote: "b.sandy1500@gmail.com provided a beta-read that is almost certainly AI-generated. (25-30 probability on a score of 1-AI, 100-human)."
Which tool did you use to get that score? I've tried a few in the past but they weren't great, just curious if there is a better one I can try.
Olivia wrote: "These are the names and emails (as they share it in all their comments) of the offendants:Hayley (digihayleyxdavid@gmail.com)
Ola / Sam (samhorla3@gmail.com)
Helen (helenyzmary@gmail.com)
Debbyka..."
I believe Bassey Blessing should be added to this list. She wanted me to pay in advance, and use friends and family on PayPal, which gives you no redress. She also wanted me to pay a man Nehemiah Emono and not her. All these things are red flags for spammers. Oh and her English is less than perfect, which seems odd for a prospective beta reader.
“Haley” got me too. Exactly as described in the pinned comment.
Cost me $40.
Gina wrote: "Olivia wrote: "These are the names and emails (as they share it in all their comments) of the offendants:Hayley (digihayleyxdavid@gmail.com)
Ola / Sam (samhorla3@gmail.com)
Helen (helenyzmary@gma..."
Gina wrote: "Olivia wrote: "These are the names and emails (as they share it in all their comments) of the offendants:
Hayley (digihayleyxdavid@gmail.com)
Ola / Sam (samhorla3@gmail.com)
Helen (helenyzmary@gma..."
Hi Gina,
Probably consider checking her account, she’s worked with lots of authors before you and hasn’t had any issues with them.
There are tons of reasons a person could decide to use another person’s PayPal. That’s up to her tho, but I won’t let you slander her character because of your “hunch” that she’s a scammer. She has more than enough proof that she isn’t.
Mod
However, there were other things that certainly ringed some alarm bells and given the influx of scammers and spammers in recent months, I think a degree of paranoia is understandable. It may be that someone has a valid reason to use another person's Paypal but from a writer's perspective, I can see why this would be suspicious.
As a beta reader and an active member of the community, it's tough to balance wanting to be welcoming to people while also calling out behavior that it typical of scam/spam accounts. When is it simply a mistake or an accident? When is it indicative of somebody who is probably a scammer/spammer, especially in light of the fact that they seem to constantly be making new accounts?
I hope I haven't made any mistakes thus far and this is why I felt uncertain about including a suspected scammer and not somebody who was proven to be one via an author's experience.
This is all just my two cents, and I believe writers should be allowed to express themselves openly and honestly and talk about their experiences here.
Mod
Gina wrote: "Olivia wrote: "These are the names and emails (as they share it in all their comments) of the offendants:Hayley (digihayleyxdavid@gmail.com)
Ola / Sam (samhorla3@gmail.com)
Helen (helenyzmary@gma..."
Hi Gina,
I appreciate your caution, especially due to the current situation happening in the group.
However, I must admit I was quite disappointed to hear myself being referred to as a scammer.
I’ve spent years building a solid reputation on this platform, working with several authors as both a beta and ARC reader always with integrity. I’ve never had any complaint of dishonesty or misconduct, and it’s important to me that this remains the case.
I understand that discovering my profile through a Facebook Beta readers group may have caused some initial concern, and I did explain that Nehemiah is a family member whose PayPal I’m temporarily using due to issues with mine. I only suggested it to avoid any complications with your payment so there won’t be any doubt or issues.
I truly value respectful and transparent interactions, and I’m always open to clarifying anything that may seem unclear.
Hello, I am jumping in to give my two cents.
It's been a year since I joined this group, and this whole thing wasn't an issue then. It is these past 3 months that we have seen an influx of spammers and scammers and honestly the amount of dishonesty here has made us all paranoid as Liz had mentioned.
Personally, I ask for payment up front because I have been scammed out of my time and work. After I do the work, they ghost me and after taking many such hits, I placed this term as a protective guideline, but that doesn't mean I don't protect my authors. I send them an invoice from my business PayPal account, and if any problems were to arise, they can always open a complaint. No one should pay anything, especially for a service, and categorize it under friends & family.
That said, I hope everybody stays safe and I hope these scammers find a life.
Jumping in to give my two cents as well, in response to some of the things Gina mentioned which “are typical” from a scammer or “suspicious”.Requesting full payment upfront is not a suspicious practice. As Sarah says, betas usually do this to protect themselves —a lot has been said about dishonest betas, but we cannot ignore the fact that there are dishonest authors too, who request a service and then ghost the service provider. They are few and far in between, but they exist and make the beta lose their time and effort.
Of course, I’m not inviting any author to pay someone who has not: verifiable qualifications, provided samples (from other works or custom), and an established presence and reputation on this and other platforms. Also, even when requesting full payment upfront is not something betas should be flagged as suspicious for, an honest beta will have no issues accepting half upfront and half upon delivery. That way, both parties are equally protected.
Asking the author to pay using the “Friends and Family” option in fact is a suspicious practice, as there is not way for the author to dispute the transaction if any problems occur. Authors, please ask for an invoice with all the details of the service you’ll be receiving.
Finally, the fact that a beta reader is not based in the US, Canada or UK, does not automatically make them suspicious, or scammers. Gina, if you take some time to investigate some well-established beta readers, you’ll find that a significant portion of them are from all over the world (India, Philippines, South America, Spain). The fact that “a woman with a very different job, from a different country” is working as a beta reader, should not be suspicious by itself. I’d say almost every beta has a different occupation other than being a beta reader —with $1 to $1.50 per 1000 words being the standard rate for this gig, it’s not possible for beta readers to earn a living solely with this job.
Anna wrote: "I wish Goodreads or Reedsy had a verified section of beta readers where authors could filter by genre, rates, and see community reviews."Wow - I *thought* Reedsy was a pay site that had nothing but "verified" people on it. I was under the impression everyone there cost $$$ but you'd have a guarantee of a "professional" response.
Can you clarify please? Cheers!
Even the people on here saying "I'm not a scammer", still sound like scammers to me.
J R wrote: "If someone sends you a "beta-read" that you suspect was AI-generated, please send me a message on this site. I have software to estimate the probability (with alarming accuracy!) whether text was A..."Sorry, that’s utter rubbish. These so-called 100% guaranteed AI checkers are scary. I had one of them flag an entire page of my work as AI, so I went through the page sentence by sentence until I found a sentence that was flagged AI.
I changed ONE WORD. Garments to Clothes, and suddenly the entire page was clean ONE F*****G WORD.
I ran a few chapters of a book by Victor Canning through one of your 100% AI checkers, and it flagged significant chunks of it as AI-generated content.
Every time you use Grammarly or ProWritingAid, you are using AI,
Soon we’ll end up like the ‘Woke’ community, where comedy is dead because making a joke may hurt someone’s feelings.
AI checking programs are DANGEROUS because soon writers will only be able to send prose that hasn’t even been spell checked in case it’s flagged as AI.
Garments in a sentence are AI, clothes aren’t. What is this world coming to?
Guaranteed 100%. I wouldn’t trust your analysis as far as I can spit in a 100 mph headwind.
Mod
I think there's a really big difference between someone voluntarily using Grammarly and handing off your work to another person without being aware of the fact that they will use AI.
chiming to add that Julie Catherine / Catherine Julie is still at it and active, using the email (catherinejulie31@gmail.com)the name was mentioned here earlier but wanted to confirm the alias is still being used. filled out a form I posted to organize beta reader info and straight-up asked if I would pay for her to beta read, even though the form I use clearly states "volunteer" / free beta / etc
Mod
We had an interaction on another thread where I think we tried to be reasonable and understanding as she claimed she was not a scammer and did not use AI. She then used AI in her *response*. It was pretty shameless. Here it is:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
To add weight to Henry's comment, I can also speak for the accuracy of Ai checkers. As an experiment, I transcribed the first page of the book version of Carl Sagans 'Cosmos,' which was, word for word, from the TV Show as well. I fed this into several of these so called, 'Ai' checkers.The results were predictably absurd. 65-70% of the content was 'Ai' generated. An astonishing result—for something created by three writers and published 45 years ago!
A similar result was obtained from a page of HP lovecraft's Call Of Cthulu.
Something to keep in mind.
Liz wrote: "Sadly, we have to add plagiarism to this post. User: Christina
Email: oluwadamilareaderounmu06@gmail.com
EDIT: This person also appears to be using another account:
https://www.goodreads.com/use..."
We can always beta read.
Author wrote: "Liz, she wasn't, actually. We became close after she beta read my book, but trust me, Proof Queen is an excellent beta reader, and I really appreciate her."
Do you also appreciate life in Nigeria?
Liz wrote: "Thank you JR, that is very kind. Jean, I'm sorry that happened to you. Thanks everybody who is contributing to the thread!"
But have you found a real beta reader yet?
Anna wrote: "I wish Goodreads or Reedsy had a verified section of beta readers where authors could filter by genre, rates, and see community reviews."WE can try filtering here if you are still looking for a beta reader
Laura wrote: "To add weight to Henry's comment, I can also speak for the accuracy of Ai checkers. As an experiment, I transcribed the first page of the book version of Carl Sagans 'Cosmos,' which was, word for w..."These 'checkers' are doing incalculable harm to authors. It has become a witch hunt. I went to Scribophile and I wanted to critique another author’s work.
Before I did anything, I got a warning that if anyone changes a sentence which might be associated with AI, I would be banned.
I stopped and told them what they could do with their site. This kind of moronic attitude is killing writers. Using AI to correct sentences (Grammarly) is not a reason why a writer should be defamed.
If the author dreams up the plot, and the STORY is not AI-generated (and you can spot it from a mile away), Anything that enhances the grammar, punctuation, spelling, typos, repetition, and poor English should be praised and not pilloried.
I wonder how many authors get rejected by agents and publishers because of these damned AI 100% reliable checkers. (Like a page of my work labelled as AI because of ONE WORD—garments instead of clothes!
It’s bad enough when I hear some agents delete any manuscript written by a man.
Mod
Username: Tori
Email: midexstring@gmail.com
Edit: This user is also using an additional profile with the same email but different username.
Username: Guui
Mod
Username: Liam
Email: liamalpha490@gmail.com
This user is spamming the group, posting in the wrong areas, and linking to his Fiverr in the free section.
Mod
Username: Dandy
Email: dand00887@gmail.com
Mod
Username: Margaret
Email: margaretlindabetareader@gmail.com
I think everyone should avoid these so-called 'free' beta-readers. I tried five of them. Here’s what you can expect:Two demanded a review on Fiverr before they even received a chapter (Anyone who sends their entire manuscript to one of these people is insane. Expect your story to get published a couple of days later with a different title). I ignored these two.
Two of them received my first chapter, and the reviews and suggestions were good and helpful, NOT AI-generated. BUT...
Expect to be bombarded from that point on, sometimes more than twice daily, to give them a review on Fiverr. It’s not like it’s for free. It’s going to cost you. The moment you pay and provide them with a review, they are gone. It’s not the review they want; it’s your MONEY.
It’s sad, because they could easily advertise paid services and two of the four above were damn good, but I suspect they are just too lazy to go through the entire process and finish the job they started,
The fifth one was the woman who has been branded as generating reviews from AI. Catherine Julie. The reviews and suggestions she sent to me were NOT AI, and she never asked me for a review on anything. I’ve even given her credit in my new book. I found her suggestions invaluable.
I’ll never ask another free one on here. I HATE being pestered daily to pay for a service which I know will never be completed.
Take my advice and give these people a wide berth.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Look at PAID services, but be careful.
Mod
Username: Sandra
Email: jd9174046@gmail.com
Her language in these two threads is very different and I suspect she used AI generated text. For more info:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Another account that I highly suspect of being ai, is Autumn JoyThe account has a generic name and clearly ai generated profile pic, and has many (automated) five-star ratings only. With no reviews .
autumnmirabell@gmail.com
Another one to add to your list. Tori or midexstring@gmail.com
Offered to read my manuscript, but only read to the 4th chapter before requiring that I "Pay to leave a review" before she could continue. How she thought that got around the rules is beyond me. Now I can't even trust the feedback she did give me.
And because I am that petty, here is her fiverr profile.
https://www.fiverr.com/s/xXLx2q4
You can also report the beta reader's account on fiverr. I'm convinced that every single one of these scammers is a single person or group using AI to create fake reviews. You need to have an account on fiverr to do it, but it is OH so satisfying.
Her name is Tori/ midexstring but the fiverr name says "Helen Mary"? I remember there was a spammer named "Helen Mary" with the email Helen (helenyzmary@gmail.com) reported in this thread. This just goes to show that it's the same person who created a new account under a different guise. This is truly sad.
midexstring@gmail.com commented to me under the accoung name 'Guui' :( i didn't answer because im new here and all the messages about scammers has made me overly cautious D:
That's the third account now🤦♀️. This is getting out of control. I hope no one falls for their weak scam.
I had six people respond to my beta request here who all demanded a purchase on Fiverr. The Proof Queen was among them. Also IIbrahim Kemy (ibrahiimkemy@gmail.com) and Daniel and Helen Mary. Yes, their feedback looked AI generated. Issues were mentioned that made no sense.
Mod
Tori seems to be Helen Mary as Blessing mentioned. It looks like the same small group of people just making new profiles and determined to rip people off.
Liz wrote: "Thanks guys for the contributions to the thread. I know it really sucks for you but in the long run I hope it helps out other people. That might be of little comfort, I know.Tori seems to be Hele..."
Please, if these people keep sending you to Fiverr, report them to Fiverr. That's the only way those people will get taken down. Especially report on the AI stuff. If these people are scamming us, they're probably scamming paying people too. You can usually open a case against them through the help chat. They'll send you an email and you can attach any evidence of their scam to that. If enough people report them, they WILL get taken down and banned from Fiverr.
Mod
If any scammers are reading this, Fiverr has now been made aware that you are ripping people off on another platform to try and build up your profile on there.
Oh, and using AI and trying to pass it off as your own work was brought up as well.
Is the Hayley mentioned here the same Hayley with the email cielodeveditor@gmail.com ?They emailed me after I posted in the Swaps folder. They also provided a link to their "portfolio" : https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I don't know how to approach this. Just wanted to mention it in case people are receiving unsolicited messages from this account. If this Hayley is a real professional editor then I apologize.
Hello Caela,I don't believe they're the same person. This 'Hayley' who emailed you seems like an actual and genuine professional.
P.S: I stand to be corrected.
Mod
The only thing that gives me pause is all of her reviews come from accounts made this summer, but that could just be me being paranoid.
You can add ismailhamzah442@gmail.com to the spammer list.
Mod
I wanted to share a cautionary note in case others are contacted. I was recently approached by someone using the name Blessings and the email booktaylor31@gmail.com. The payment email they provided did not match the email listed on their Goodreads profile or their official website.
Hello Sable,I wish you had asked me about this when we were exchanging emails. About the payment email, I use my friends Paypal as I do not reside in the states. Not once has this affected my relationship or performance with authors who seek my services. I also have never scammed anyone as you can tell from my thread here on goodreads.
I dont believe there's a problem with me using a friend's email. This has never been an issue for me. I just wished you had asked for clarity in your email rather than bringing it on here. I also didn't approach you on a whim, you posted a listing which I responded to.
Also here's my goodreads thread so you can ensure I'm not a "scam". https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
P.S: It's Blessing.
Thank you.
(Edit: Reading back, I realize my reply came across as frustrated. It’s just disheartening to come on here and see something like this, especially when I’ve worked so hard to build trust and a good reputation on this site).
I'm popping in to show my support for Blessing. I have used many beta readers, but Blessing is now the only one I use because I trust her that much. In my opinion, she could charge three times what she does, and I would still happily pay, she is that brilliant.
My second book was recently published, thanks to her, and I plan to use her for any others I manage to finish.
I am sorry to hear of scammers on Goodreads, but I want to say Blessing is not one. She is amazing. Her services are invaluable to me on my writing journey.
I absolutely recommend her to everyone.
Cheers to a community protecting each other. LOVE.
Everyone (and in this case, especially Sable) please, let’s not forget what the actual purpose of this post is. As the creator of this post, I made it so we can report the unfortunate uprise of scam accounts on the group. However, these scam reports come with receipts and solid proof to them, whether it’s for continuous sketchy behavior on the group, or direct testimonials from people who have been scammed or attempted to.Using a different email from one’s pen name or website, is not a valid reason to deem someone a scammer. There are hundreds of thousands of authors even, who go by pen names —and those can’t be used in a bank. Payment websites such as PayPal also have a reputation for easily blocking accounts, sometimes without a motive even, so it’s not unheard of that someone uses a friend or family member’s account to either pay, or receive payment.
Let’s not use this folder to tarnish the reputation of someone who has not scammed you, and have some consideration on the amount of time and effort that takes building up that reputation.
If you have been asked for payment on a Free services folder, report it. If you have given money to someone and they have not delivered, report it. Anything that violates the rules of the group, report it. Using a family member’s account is certainly not against the rules.
Disclaimer: I’m not directly defending Blessing, who was (I believe) wrongfully reported, as I’ve not used her services, I can’t speak for her clients. However, I’m speaking out because I don’t think it’s right to accuse someone without solid proof, or without them violating the rules.
Mod
Username: Daniel
Email: danielthomascro@gmail.com
Posting in places where he shouldn't be, the typical generic messages.
Edit: This person was also seemingly upset about a previous comment I made to a deleted user (Tori aka HelenMary aka Guui. Whew, that's a lot of accounts.) about spamming their services in the Blurb section.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Additionally, a search of this person's information yields the fact that they have been here before using the same email under a different profile.
Just a got an email from that danielthomascro. Thanks for this thread. Really hoping to get a betareader or a critique partner here like before.
Email: sayololuwa454@gmail.com
User name: Sayololuwa Babina
I'm basing this off of the fact that:
-This is a recent account (June)
-Person has the usual approach (Very short, generic messages)
-Person is posting in the wrong areas (To be fair, I have only seen this the one time, but it's like they didn't even read the original post, which is typical of other scam accounts)
If I'm wrong, I apologize to this person, but right now I'm adding them to the list.