Self-publish and be scammed: Jon’s tale of heartbreak highlights boom in fraudsters using AI to supercharge book swindles

New wave of publishing scams mimic lonely hearts hoaxes of old – swapping promises of true love for the fantasy of literary acclaim. And the wooing process is now fully automated Walter Marsh: I wrote a book about theft and deception – and now AI scams are flooding my inbox Eight years of dedication were poured into the pages of Angel of Aleppo, Jon Cocks’ debut historical novel. Inspired by his wife’s grandmother, a survivor of the Armenian genocide of the early 20th century, it was a labour of love, distilled from thousands of hours of research and oral testimony. The retired South Australian high school teacher’s project carried the weight of family history and historical truth. It was precisely this emotional gravity that rendered him vulnerable. The new wave of artificial intelligence-fuelled publishing fraud that began saturating global markets last year lifts directly from the lonely hearts playbook. Rogue publishing schemes – most operating out of south Asia, the Philippines and Nigeria – have become the new romance scams, substituting the promise of true love for the dream of literary recognition. In six months Cocks has lost almost A$10,000. It wasn’t vacu