This Scam Could Cost Authors Real Money

About this video

Dale issues a warning about a scam in the indie author community: people are impersonating him by email and trying to sell coaching, consulting, promotional packages, and other services. He says the scammers scrape YouTube comments and pull public information from profiles, socials, or email addresses, then reach out as if continuing a conversation that started on YouTube. He states plainly that this is not him: he is no longer offering coaching or consulting of any kind, period — the Kickstarter campaign the previous year was the last time he offered it — and no amount of money will change his mind, because he is now focused only on fiction writing and producing YouTube videos. He also says he will never cold email anyone to offer services. He lists red flags to watch for: a Gmail address, unsolicited outreach, a pitch for coaching, consulting, or paid help, replies that feel off or do not really answer what was asked, and any request for payment. If contacted, he tells viewers to report it immediately; for Gmail specifically, open the email, click the three dots, tap report phishing and report user, forward the email unedited to abuse@gmail.com, submit it through Google’s abuse form choosing impersonation, and report it to the FTC. He notes people have already reported these scams to him through Discord, email, and social media, so it is not an isolated problem.

Key takeaways

• Scammers are impersonating Dale by email, scraping YouTube comments and public profile/social/email information to make outreach look like a continuation of a real conversation.
• Dale states he no longer offers coaching or consulting of any kind — the previous year’s Kickstarter campaign was the last time — and he is focused only on fiction writing and YouTube videos.
• He says he will never cold email anyone to offer services, so any unsolicited pitch in his name is not from him.
• Red flags he lists: a Gmail address, unsolicited outreach, a coaching/consulting/paid-help pitch, replies that feel off or evasive, and any request for payment.
• His reporting steps for Gmail: use the three-dot menu to report phishing and report the user, forward the email unedited to abuse@gmail.com, submit Google’s abuse form under impersonation, and report it to the FTC — and never send money.

Episode details: published April 29, 2026 · 2:27 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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