Scammers Pretended To Be Forum's Mina Kim. Here's Why episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 30, 2026 · 54 MIN

Scammers Pretended To Be Forum's Mina Kim. Here's Why

from KQED's Forum · host KQED

In the last month, about a dozen authors wrote to Forum saying they’d been messaged by a fraudster claiming to be Mina Kim. In exchange for a “small fee,” they’d be invited to talk about their book on the show. This is a new kind of impersonation scam targeting the wider publishing industry, and like online dating schemes, they’re using flattery and promises of publicity to con the authors into sending money. We look at why authors are being targeted, just how deep this publishing scam goes, and how AI is superpowering online scams. Guests: Lauren Goode, senior correspondent covering Silicon Valley, Wired Dan Barry, senior writer, The New York Times Julian Sancton, senior features editor, The Hollywood Reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 30, 2026

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Scammers Pretended To Be Forum's Mina Kim. Here's Why

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