by Rhonda Rees
I perused the most-persuasive-words in the English language lists, FREE came up about every time. Not surprising, as many people reacting to this word become excited when they think they’re getting something they won’t have to pay for. That’s fine, as long as the giver is doing it legitimately, and the receiver knows what he or she gets by accepting the offer. This is very true with items advertised online, and especially when it comes to books.
To read an author’s work without paying for it is still too common an occurrence. I’m talking about online book piracy, the practice of illegally reproducing and sharing information over the Internet. If an offer seems a bit too good to be true, it probably is.
According to a 2019 article by Michael Kozlowski, ebook piracy is on the rise. More than $300 million was lost in legitimate author income in the U.S. this year. A 2017 Nielsen consumer survey stated that $315 million in book sales is lost annually to online piracy. Similar situations are also happening in other countries. I found these statistics pretty sobering. The Authors Guild and the Society of Authors take the matter very seriously. They work tirelessly to protect the rights of authors by their advocacy work.
I know about this frustrating situation only too well.
I’m an author and PR person by trade, and I’ve been the victim of many unscrupulous websites (mainly in foreign countries) offering my U.S. trademarked, registered, copyrighted, and award-winning book, Profit and Prosper with Public Relations®: Insider Secrets to Make You a Success for free. Countless other authors have experienced this same thing.
In my recent research, I stumbled upon a website that took things to a whole new level. After I saw they offered my book as a free download without my knowledge or permission, I saw that it featured people’s comments and photos, and some appeared to endorse my work. This was very different from what I’d seen before, bringing things to a new low.
One person’s message really stood out. Karen McKnight’s comments seemed legitimate. She too works in PR, and gave the impression that she was genuinely interested in reading my work. I wanted to contact her to mention that I never authorized my book to be distributed for free.
Based on her post, photo, and profession, I tracked Karen down by sending her an email. I learned she never wrote the copy I found on the illegal website advertising my work. Not only that, she told me she too fell to victim of something highly unusual in regard to online book-piracy scams.
This is her incredible story:
(Note Karen’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.)
“Several years ago, I commented on a popular celebrity’s post on Facebook, and my message received 3,000+ likes right away. Ever since, my name and old profile photo have been used without my consent on a website claiming I have access to thousands of different types of books. I get messages each month from people around the globe asking me to send them links to download books, PDFs, and more.”
She went on to say, “I’ve never heard of any of these books, or ever downloaded them. It’s frustrating to have my name and photo used without my consent. I know authors work hard to develop and curate content, and I don’t want them believing I’m distributing their work without their blessing, because that’s not the case.” She further states, “It seems that if I want to get my name and photo disassociated with all of this, I’d have to delete the social media platforms that I have spent years building memories on.”
If this scenario can happen to Karen McKnight, it can also happen to anyone else. When I phoned her to follow up, I learned something else. As she previously stated, her comments on the fake site advertising my book mentioned how much she wanted my book, and that she felt glad to get my work for free to help with her PR career. She said that in other similar situations, her comments have been changed to match an author’s particular profession, in a type of catfish scenario. (Setting up a false personal profile on a social networking site for deceptive purposes.) Since her actual photo and real name appear to endorse a book, the author and public are left to think that she may really be an accountant, travel expert, or other professional. This can damage her name, credibility, and reputation, and cause unwanted confusion.
What made our phone meeting so incredible is that she is actually in the same field as me. What are the odds of that happening after she appeared in hundreds, if not thousands, of other sites as another profession?
Knowing this made me want to help her tell her story.
I’ve decided to shed some light and better educate the public about this new way that pirate sites are able to steal from authors. They think nothing of damaging unsuspecting authors and the reputation of innocent people. A point to note is that Karen found out that the site in question doesn’t actually give away free books, but instead offloads malware to unsuspecting participants.
I hope Karen, and others like her, won’t be made too vulnerable from online book-piracy thieves when they are merely commenting on social media sites. Think of all the potential ramifications. Continuing online book piracy, and the newer methods for doing so, is causing havoc for many unsuspecting people.
This is a crime that needs more public awareness and attention. Government, law enforcement, and cyber security specialists ought to remain on alert. What happened to Karen after she posted on social media is something that can actually happen to any one of us, either now or in the future. We should never sit back and watch this happen.
Rhonda Rees advocates for online book-piracy awareness, appearing on TV, radio, online, and in print. She gave a webinar on the topic with the Independent Book Publishers Association and contacted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Global IP Center, the Copyright Clearance Center, the Authors Guild, IP Watchdog, the Counterfeit Report, Piracy Trace, MUSO Company, the Book Publicists of Southern California, and more. In 2015-2016 the Bulldog Reporter named her Publicist of the Year for her online book-piracy media awareness campaign.