⚠️ Beware of scammers!
UPDATE: 17 JULY 2025
Summary: Between June 2024 and June 2025, the domain ukbookpublishing.co.uk was operated by scammers. Nominet, the body responsible for overseeing all .uk domain names, took control of the domain and transferred it to us in early July 2025. This decision followed advice from an independent legal expert and reports submitted to Action Fraud. We sincerely thank all the authors who took the time to submit their reports to Action Fraud – your actions made this possible. We discovered that the scam operated via ukbookpublishing.co.uk is part of a much larger international fraud network operated by an individual from Pakistan, and sometimes based in the US. This network operates through dozens of fraudulent websites including AMZ Publishing, Panda Publishing, and many others that have defrauded thousands of authors worldwide. Amazon took this person and his associates to court and won control of many domain names. Also, Pakistani authorities pursued the same person and his associates for extortion and fraud activities and further action was taken in the US. The network operates through constantly changing company names and uses typical scammer tactics:
- Claims prestigious addresses in New York, London, or Los Angeles while seemingly operating from Pakistan
- Creates fake urgency through “limited time offers” and pressure selling
- Escalates costs after initial payment, claiming new requirements or policies
How to protect yourself:
- If a company claims to be registered in the UK, ask for their company registration number and verify it at Companies House, the UK government’s official register of companies
- For US companies, request their state registration number and verify with the relevant state’s Secretary of State website
- Ask for the contact details of previous author clients, and follow up to check they are who they purport to be
- Be suspicious of any company claiming Amazon affiliation without official proof
- Look out for company names that are a twist on a well-known brand such as Amazon or Penguin
Watch this video exposing similar publishing scam tactics:
In this video, a YouTuber turns the tables on book scammers. The scammers are based in Pakistan but claim to be based in the US, and have multiple brands, most of which closely copy leading publishing brands. Sounds familiar? I don’t have evidence that these are the scammers who impersonated our business, however, the video is revealing, as it shows the lengths that the scammers will go to. Unfortunately, it also suggests that book publishing scams are well-organised, and on the rise.
Be safe out there. Continue to report any fraudulent activity to Action Fraud – your reports help protect other authors and bring these criminals to justice.
Below is the original blog post, published before Nominet transferred the .co.uk domain to us
Starting last year (2024), we became aware of a company impersonating our brand via ukbookpublishing.co.uk (we are .com). They have fraudulently claimed our published books as theirs to dupe unsuspecting authors. We have evidence of this. Despite claiming to be in Manchester, they seem to be based in India or Pakistan. A person who went to the Manchester office address listed on their website was told by people at those offices that they had never heard of the business. They pressure sell, bombarding authors with calls and emails. If you’ve experienced this – it wasn’t us. More recently, we’ve learned that they are also trading (or used to trade) as “AMZ” publishing – you can read about their scams on these sites: https://booklaunchers.com/beware-of-amazon-publishing-services-other-scam-companies/ https://writersweekly.com/angela-desk/a-list-of-publishers-that-all-authors-should-avoid-at-all-costs
They have covers on their website for books published by other companies, before this firm’s website was launched (copyright infringement). They have fake client testimonials with pictures taken from the Internet.
Please avoid this company and look out for dubious reviews. ukbookpublishing.co.uk is NOT US (we are .com) Be careful out there! UPDATE: If you are contacted by ‘Emily Richards’, ‘Eric Williams’, ‘George Bachman’, ‘Adam Harrington’, and anyone using Basecamp project management software — the people going by these names are not us. If you have been approached by these people and they used our published books as their own or claimed they were based in the UK, please report this to UK police’s Action Fraud and please let me know via our contact page.