Another scam for indie writers to watch out for

I get a lot of AI generated book promo spam, the kind that seems like an interview request until asking for money several emails in, wasting lots of time I could be writing. So when I got a message a few days ago with the subject "Editorial Interest in Your Contemporary Fiction", I shot off my typical response: "Be specific. Are you selling something?" The reply was no. 

"To answer your question directly, I’m not reaching out to sell you a marketing package, promotional service, or paid author campaign. My interest is in your books themselves and the possibility of exploring them from an acquisition perspective."

I used google to determine this was a real person from a real publishing house.  Linked in said she had just begun looking for fiction. I made an apology and dusted off a version of my query letter. 

Then came her reply. It came quickly and was very long and complimentary. It asked me to send her my full manuscript. Perhaps what was most notable was the use of active listening, responding with lines from my email only slightly reworded. This was clearly AI. But was it a real person, using AI to help them write an email, as I keep hearing people are doing?

At this point, I looked closer at the email address. Initially, it seemed to come from the publishing house, but when I clicked to expand, it did not. Luckily, I managed to catch this before sending a copy of my book or wasting a day while AI blew smoke up my ass. Here's what the publisher says to look out for:

Be cautious if you receive an unsolicited message that:

• Comes from a Gmail, AOL, Outlook, Yahoo, or other personal email account rather than an official organizational domain.
• Uses an email address that closely resembles a legitimate company but contains extra words, unusual punctuation, misspellings, or altered domain names.
• Offers publicity, book club placement, interviews, reviews, awards, publishing consideration, or film opportunities that lead to a request for payment.
• Requests banking information, payment details, or other personal information.
• Creates a sense of urgency or pressure to act immediately.
• Contains language that seems generic, overly flattering, awkwardly written, or inconsistent with professional publishing communications.
• Claims to represent an employee but originates from an unofficial email address. 

Please leave comments about similar experiences and advice to handle it. My typical response is to send along my favorite curse. I know they won't get it. I just like to put it out into the universe:

"May the flees of a thousand camels infect your crotch by dawn."