Jul
10
Now this is a brilliant scam
July 10, 2009 | 13 Comments
I received the following email today.
Dear Zummo Paul [evidently Germans are unaware of American naming conventions],
While researching publishable academic papers at the Library of The Catholic University of America [This really raised my suspicions. Who researches at CUA's library?], I came across a reference to a work entitled “Thomas Jeffersons America Democracy progress and the quest for perfection”.
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG specializes in the publication of theses and dissertations.
I am therefore wondering if you would be interested in cooperating with us towards a worldwide marketed publication of your work.
Your reply including an e-mail address to which I could send an e-mail with further information in an attachment would be greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Kind regards,
[name withheld]
Acquisition EditorLAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG
I was excited for approximately .5 seconds, but my brain began its normal functioning and I immediately suspected that this was probably a hoax of some kind. A little digging around the internet confirms that this is most likely a scam. They do have a legitimate looking website, but that actually only confirmed my suspicions. Here’s a bit from their FAQ section.
Will my manuscript be edited by LAP?
Since the manuscripts we accept are already of a high standard, we tend not to edit works. Proofreading is not performed as it would not be financeable.
Oh you mean I don’t have to worry about all those tedious things like editing to meet academic standards, or getting it approved by a committee? Sign me up!
Oh, and there’s that whole handing over my bank account information – you know, for the royalties.
Well, as much as such scamming should not be encouraged, I have to admit this is a pretty good one. Dissertation writers, after spending multiple years slavishly working on their dissertations, are not exactly eager to jump right back in the saddle to spend another year or probably more editing the manuscript for publication. This scam preys upon the academically lazy – in other words, pretty much all dissertation writers approximately a year removed from finishing the doctoral process.
Well done.
Comments
13 Comments so far
They’re getting fancier. Just read about this one today via SMS text messaging.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135372/Text_message_scammers_quietly_prey_on_regional_banks
[...] Now this is a brilliant scam | The Cranky Conservative – I received the following email today. Dear Zummo Paul [evidently Germans are unaware of American naming conventions], While researching publishable academic. [...]
This scam is well-devised. Having submitted my dissertation to LAP subsequent to their repeated proddings, I then received their request for my checking account number for royalty deposits, thus revealing their criminal intent. The burst of anger I experienced related more to my [once again] observing how easily I am deceived when another strokes my ego, and the false pride I exhibited when I bragged to others that my work was finally getting the recognition it deserves. Should have stuck to my original fleeting thought prior to its being hijacked by my pride [a version of Woody Allen's dictum on private clubs as in why would I want to be published by a company that would be interested in publishing MY work?]. I then acted on that anger, replying to my “Acquisition Editor” with comments on the thuggish look of her Board of Directors, yada-yada-yada, with a perfectly-placed use of the “F” word, a handy tool even for the most devout, in my opinion. What blows me away is that the AE actually responded, accusing me in so many words of being an overeducated twit, defending the legitimacy of her company, and refuting my “disgusting language,” probably a play on my comment that she and her fellow scammers were disgusting pigs. She actually tried to convey a sense of hurt feelings, probably yet another attempt to lasso in those magical numbers of mine, which is all that these disgusting pigs who ruin financial lives and commit identity fraud are all about.
I thought it was funny that they asked for my email address when they just wrote me-Aron
If you set up a separate banking account, where’s the harm? They can’t steal your money. You get five copies for free, the thesis you worked so hard on is out there on, getting seen on Amazon etc. Whose “financial life” has been ruined?
People:
LAP is real. A friend of mine published her thesis with them. Also, take a look at Amazon.com – plenty of awful, but published theses.
I also received the initial email and haven’t responded yet… trying to do a bit of research first.
What kind of bank account details do they ask for? Is it just a number and name? I mean in that case they can’t access anything – they can only deposit money and that’s it. Many people/companies have those details of my bank account and I have theirs. We can only pay each other and nothing else. Plus it’s the idea of having a separate bank account just for them (they are even suggesting that idea in their website).
Anybody has gone as far with bank account details. What exactly are they asking for?
I am also like many here sceptical about this but I am trying to find out how their “fraud – if any” works…
Thanks!
i just checked about LAP in amazon and saw this.
seems not a scam to me?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22Lambert+Academic+Publishing%22&x=0&y=0
best
y
I recieved an invitation too, I am wondering what to do? I will investigate further before doing anything!
MAD
But they ask for you to give up at your author rights!!!! And then they limit how much or what you get/want later to publish out of your dissertation. It freaks me out!! I don’t know what to do…Then there is a statement that says “you will not get rich” would they get rich???
However in the USA we still get our dissertation published. Don’t we????
I received such a mail, and I was in contact with a real person. I worked on that and received a free copy, just a month after submitting the camera ready file. It is listed in amazon.com already. Yet to give bank account. The aquisition Editor even suggested me to open an exclusive account for crediting the royalty and mentioned taht many authors do so. I do not find any scam in this. If we suspect , can open a seperate account for crediting royalty. Anyway, a thesis after most of the content published in journals, gets published, I do not see any harm.
Since I’m not going into academia and my dissertation is chock full of photos and illustrations that are expensive to publish, hence no traditional publisher will touch it, LAP seemed a great way to get the information out there. They’ve published my book, it’s available online and I set up a separate savings account that they cannot touch. Seems pretty legit to me. Also, I remember reading a number of LAP books while in grad school. Some good some not. But that can be said for any publishing company. And no, you don’t give up your copyright to your book. You can still publish articles using the material, etc. And they published it exactly as I sent it to them. So relax. Enjoy. And move on already.
Yes I also received a mail from them. After reading all these comments, I will definitely do some more search before makeing any commitments.
Prasad