By now you may have heard of self-published Carolyn Arnold and her epic fake review scam involving hundreds of fake reviews and ratings on Amazon, Goodreads, and other sites. Zon Alert has been blogging about her nefarious activities for some time now. If you haven't heard of the queen of fake reviews and her "promotion" networks where authors swap reviews like candy, act as each others fans, and generally work schemes, let me enlighten you.
The Many Faces of Carolyn Arnold article was an eye opener revealing how far some people will go to try to sell bad books and by bad I mean absolutely horrendous. The article also details her co-conspiritors in crime:
Collette Scott
Betty Dravis
Richard Hale
Joanna Lee Doster
D A Graystone
Ashley Fontainne
Sandy Wolters
Zach Fortier
Stacy Eaton
Carmen DeSousa
Jennifer Chase
Todd Bush
Kenneth Hoss
Ann Swann
J A Hunsinger
Karen DeLabar
Kirkus MacGowan
Linda Hawley
Together these authors have not just thousands of fake reviews on Amazon and other sites but thousands upon thousands of fakes. What makes this case even more interesting is how Carolyn Arnold is at the center of it all.
Crime Author Criminal: Carolyn Arnold was an article about other dubious tactics of self-published Carolyn Arnold and these authors, identifying other tactics these authors are using try to boost sales of their books. Not only does self-published Carolyn Arnold try to misuse the reputation and name recognition of an established, recognized children's author of the same name, Carolyn Arnold also uses fake media sources.
It's enough to make one's stomach churn.
No comments:
Post a Comment