Eccles Fisher agency hit by email scam

Scouting agency Eccles Fisher is battling a phishing scam attempting to access manuscripts, authors’ details and other confidential material via email.

A scammer is sending emails purporting to be from the company’s owner, Catherine Eccles, to literary agencies asking for manuscripts. The emails appear to be from a genuine Eccles account, with her signature, but if the recipient replies, their email goes to a different domain with a slightly altered address.

Eccles said the situation was "aggravating" as her contacts could be tricked, and the scam could expose thousands of manuscripts, and authors’ details. She said no data has leaked, but that the emails that started 10 days ago were now a daily occurrence. The Bookseller has seen two fake emails: one asking for a typescript, another requesting an Eccles Fisher website password.

Eccles said: "I’ve heard of this happening before, particularly around book fairs. Whoever is writing this has inside knowledge... this is from someone with knowledge of our industry and who we work with. It could be very damaging to our reputation. We want to stop it and encourage others to be vigilant."