We are aware of reports that fraudsters are impersonating Atlantic Books staff, literary agents and Atlantic authors to target writers, illustrators and other members of the wider publishing community.

These communications are fraudulent and do not come from Atlantic Books.

Fraudsters may make false book acquisition offers, propose to provide literary or marketing services and may request payment or ask for sensitive financial information. Some fraudsters also target job applicants or freelancers impersonating Atlantic Books.

What to look out for:

Pay close attention to email domain names.

This is the portion of the email following the “@” symbol. All official Atlantic Books correspondence will be sent from an address ending @atlantic-books.co.uk or @allenandunwin.com. We never use email providers like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, or other commercial email providers to conduct official Atlantic Books business.

Fraudsters have become very adept at mimicking email domain names, so look closely at spelling and punctuation (watch out for extra letters and subtle misspellings). Above all trust your instincts. Regardless of the email domain, if it feels suspicious treat it with extreme caution.

“Cold calls” via messaging apps or social media.

We do not use apps like WhatsApp or Telegram to reach out to authors or freelancers. If you were contacted via social media, check that the communication comes from one of our official accounts linked on our website. Even then, if the offer seems suspicious treat it with caution.

Requests for payment or sensitive information.

Be extremely cautious of any requests for sensitive information or payment of any kind. We never ask for payment to review manuscripts or provide any kind of literary “services”.

Fraudulent job offers.

All genuine employment opportunities will be posted to our website ( https://atlantic-books.co.uk/jobs/) and/or thebookseller.com. If an opportunity is listed, use the guidelines for submitting your application posted on the listing itself. Do not respond to any unsolicited emails inviting you to apply.

If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

If someone purporting to be an Atlantic Books staff member comes to you with an out-of-the-blue offer, be extremely cautious. Be aware of any attempts to create urgency or pressure. If the sender claims you must act immediately, threatens that you might lose an opportunity, warns you not to contact Atlantic Books directly, or provides excuses for not using an official Atlantic Books email address, these are strong indicators of fraud.

What to do if you’ve been targeted:

Cease contact with the fraudster immediately.

While it might be tempting to let them know you’re onto them, it is a far safer approach to immediately cease contact. Use the Report Phishing or Report Fraud function in your email provider to report the email. Check your email service provider’s help page if you’re not sure how to do this.

Do not click any links.

These links may install ransomware or other harmful software that can compromise or block access to your device.

Notify your bank immediately.

If you have provided financial information to someone who contacted you that you now suspect of fraud, contact your bank’s fraud team.

Report it.

In the UK, if you have been a victim of fraud, we encourage you to report it to the National Cyber Security Centre in the UK:  https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-email

You can also report fraud to Action Fraud at  https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/

Author impersonation

Fraudsters may also impersonate Atlantic Books authors in an attempt to scam other writers, often by expressing interest in their work and initiating conversations through social media or email. After several conversations, they may request personal information or offer to read, review, or provide a foreword for a manuscript in exchange for a fee. They may also ask you to pay a fee to take some kind of training course as a step toward becoming published.

Any unsolicited communication asking for sensitive personal information or payment, even after an extended conversation, should be treated as a high risk for fraud.

For other tips on avoiding and reporting fraud in the UK, visit 

Gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing