"Send Unpublished Manuscript" Phishing Scammer Who Fooled the Global Publishing Industry Caught

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyun-ui Cho] A fraudster who impersonated publishing industry personnel and obtained unpublished manuscripts from famous authors worldwide for several years has been caught.

On the 5th (local time), according to the Associated Press, Damian Williams, the U.S. Southern District of New York prosecutor, announced that Filippo Bernardini, originally from Italy, was arrested on charges including fraud.

Bernardini was apprehended by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) immediately after arriving at New York John F. Kennedy Airport.

He had been indicted last July on charges including telecommunications fraud and identity theft. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Bernardini is accused of using phishing tactics such as impersonating editors or personnel from publishing companies to send emails to authors requesting links containing unpublished manuscripts, thereby obtaining the manuscripts.

Although his criminal activities ended in July last year, the exact starting point remains unknown. It is estimated that he had been conducting such fraudulent acts since at least August 2016.

Bernardini created fake email accounts by changing one or two characters from actual publishing company names and cleverly mimicked the impersonated individuals to deceive people.

Famous authors who fell victim to Bernardini’s fraud include Canadian Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood and American actor and writer Ethan Hawke.

According to the indictment, the number of people he impersonated reached hundreds, and the unpublished manuscripts he obtained totaled in the hundreds.

Bernardini is known to have worked for a well-known publishing company headquartered in the U.S. but based in the UK. Victims who received the phishing emails also reported that the sender appeared knowledgeable about the publishing industry.

However, the motive behind the crimes remains unclear. The publishing industry explained that there is no evidence that he sold the illicitly obtained manuscripts on the black market or used them to make financial demands.

The publishing company where Bernardini works stated that he has been suspended until further information is available.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.