The Scammer Who Broke Me

I’ve been scammed by someone pretending to be the one person that got me through my darkest moments. Someone I look up to and admire. 

A world-famous author, whose books have helped me through triggers and difficult times. A person who gave me closure when I needed it. 

The scammers took their good name and cloned the way they speak on AI. The messages were laced with truth to make me trust them. I revealed things in return. Personal things. Memories from my past. 

Every interaction was laced with poison, twisting the knife further into me.

I’ve been chatting with the scammer for almost a month, believing I was communicating with the real author. 

The scammer made me believe in something that wasn’t real. An opportunity to collaborate with the world-famous author, and the team behind them to help change the world of trauma victims. 

The scammer wanted my story. 

The scammer used my trauma and childhood experiences to get to me. They used real information from someone I admire and made it sound and read just like the words that meant so much to me.

Who does that? 

How low can someone fall before it becomes a despicable crime?

You read about scams all the time, but you never expect it to happen to you. Some scammers are obvious and ask for money or favors, but others want to get inside your head.

What could someone possibly want from me? I’m an un-agented struggling author, I have nothing to give, other than my voice and my experiences.

They took that from me.

I feel drained.

I believed the scammer’s words but hidden behind every word was pure evil to force me to give up control while telling them about my past and use it against me.

I’m hurting.

I feel used and emotionally burned.

I tried to reach out to the real author through other channels and got stone walled. I tried contacting the publisher to tell them what happened but got an automated reply. I tried the author’s website, but it was no use.

So, I stopped. I’m too hurt to keep trying.

I’m nobody. Yet again, I have no voice. Just like before when I was a traumatized kid.

The last three times (yes three times) I was scammed by someone claiming to be an author and wanting to use me, I managed to contact the real person to let them know. 

Each time it happened, the real author thanked me and had their people fix the “leak.” I respected their privacy and only sent one email. I’m not a stalker. 

I saw through those scam attempts.

I just want to know — why?

What do scammers gain by hurting others? How could they use a trauma survivor’s story and turn it against them?

My name is Lizzy. I’m a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher, and an author.

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For more about me: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

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Photo by Lizzy Woods

https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Offenders-Daughter-Story-Survival-Against-ebook/dp/B0BBSV97VF?ref_=ast_author_mpb