Phishing

I don't know if it's just me (although I'm sure it isn't), but is anyone else's inbox stuffed full of emails like this?

Hello Dear Author,

After careful evaluation this month, your book has been identified as a strong candidate for our 2026 Book of the Week program.
We would be pleased to highlight your title across our platform, positioning it directly in front of our engaged readership and industry audience. Our website welcomes up to 1.7 million annual visits, offering valuable exposure.
If you’d like to review the full feature outline, simply reply and I’ll share the details.

 Warm regards,
Wordsmith & Writers 

You will note that nowhere does it mention the title of the aforementioned book. I suspect that they would be more pleased about getting some money out of me than actually "highlighting" my title "across" their platform. Across? Why across? Surely they mean "via"? Or even "on"?

If it's not actually "phishing" it's a scam and spam at one and the same time. 

"Dear Author" (??!!) I'm not their anything author. It's just lazy, I mean even a spambot can use targetted e-mails that address the "target" by name, I mean - like mine - half the time the address is the bloody name. 

Anyway, we are discouraged by all the cyber-security geeks (certainly the ones I know) not to engage with the senders of this effluvial rubbish. I'd love to reply, if it were in any way advisable ... Most likely in the following manner:-

Dear SpamBot, 

or may I address you as S(O)B? I fail to see how I can be your "Dear Author", if you don't even know my name, even though it's up there in the "to" box on the e-mail that you sent to me and a million other writers. Equally, you would be much more convincing if you actually mentioned the title of a book I have written, Lord knows I post enough sh1te on Social Media telling people I've written them. 

I have taken the step of forwarding your e-mail to the government's anti-email-fraud site "report@phishing.gov"* . One thing I must thank you and your fellow S(O)Bs for, is the fact that I'm now on phishing.gov's Christmas Card list, which although sent by a government bot, I have taken great pleasure in forwarding** said e-card back** to them. 

I look forward to forwarding your next pitifully generic missive to report@phishing.gov the minute I receive it.

Yours 
Dear Author AKA Ewan Lawrie

* it's real, use it.
**sic