Last year Kit and I sold 2,005 of our novels at craft fairs, Christmas shows, and farmer’s markets. It’s a lot of fun and we meet interesting people. MANY readers come back to thank us.

A man who had sponsored previous marketing events in our area offered us some attractive new venues. We paid large fees by credit card for three events. Our card has cancelled payments before when we disputed a bogus transaction. We expected similar safeguards.

When the promoter didn’t send us the necessary information and wouldn’t answer his phone, we directly contacted the three venues. No events by this man were scheduled. We immediately contacted our credit card company. “When did he notify you the event was cancelled?” asked the credit card rep.

“He never did notify us. He has no events scheduled at the venues promised,” we answered.

“We can’t reverse the charge until he officially notifies you that the event has been cancelled,” returned the rep.

Like a scammer is going to notify his marks?  Oh, this gets worse. We then hoped to involve state fraud authorities. They allow the accused scammer thirty-five days to respond. If he doesn’t respond in thirty-five days . . . then our government protectors close the case. I’m not joking! With this system, why would a knowledgeable fraudster ever respond? The system favors scammers. No wonder they’re proliferating.

Kiplinger Magazine reports that 20% of American adults are victims of scams each year. I think that estimate is very low, especially if you consider third party pirates and legal companies that hype worthless services.

I feel like we’re treading water with sharks circling. You can’t be too careful with your money.

Drew