Industrial alert: Protect yourself against scams

09 January, 2025

The Australian Writers’ Guild has received reports of scams targeting screenwriters and book authors.
 
These can be sophisticated scams that expressly refer to your published work by name, or include details about your work. Scammers may claim to be representatives of studios, streaming services, book publishers or literary agencies.
 
This is a widespread problem and many of these companies have issued warnings regarding suspicious emails and texts from scammers claiming to be from the company in question.
 
Members should exercise caution with any unsolicited offers. Legitimate business propositions from production companies should not require upfront payment or personal investments for the development of your screenplay.
 
Note that scams may not necessarily involve a direct request for a payment or personal investment. Instead, you may be asked to sign up for a paid course, pay an entry fee for a competition or purchase any service that involves the promotion, development or sale of your screenplay or book.
 
If you receive any suspicious communication, members should try to verify authenticity by checking the sender’s email address (to ensure it is a legitimate company email) as well as the company website (to confirm that the sender of the email does actually work for the company they claim to work for).
 
You can also verify the correspondence is legitimate by contacting the company itself, through official communication channels (this can often be found on the contact page of a website). If there is any doubt, members should report these suspicious communications to the AWG.
 
You can contact us at admin@awg.com.au or reach our Industrial team at industrial@awg.com.au.
 
Find out more about how to spot and avoid scams on the Australian Government website Scamwatch.