Hey dude. I know you’re reading this. And you know what? So are other people.

There’s something very basic I don’t think you understand. Sure, you might slow me down at first by leaving fake 1-star reviews because I refused to remove a damning report to fraud sites, but. you’re helping me more than you are hurting me in the long run.

Here’s the thing. Money can’t buy a clear conscience, or a sense of community, or all the things that truly make us at peace. By trying to prevent you from defrauding others and reporting what you did, I have a clear conscience. If I surrendered to your threats and stayed silent, I would not, and that means more to me. Even if you wriggled out of everything I initially reported you for (and you won’t, it’s all clearly documented), I am doing the right thing by letting authorities know what you did. And when you threatened to tank my reviews? Every time kind strangers and people in the bookish community offer their help when they see what you are doing, you remind me that I am part of a global community. There are SO many more good people in the world who want to do the right thing than there are people stuck in your state of mind.

It won’t work, in the long run. Even if you or one of your employees are smart enough to hide the digital footprints and write some reviews that aren’t self-evidently fake, every time you do this, you take time to make your mind more miserable. You isolate yourself. 

And the longer you keep going, you also give more legitimate readers a reason to read my book. If anything, you're boosting my marketing.

People will read the book anyway. The book will mean something to them anyway.

And nothing you can do will ever take that away. PS since you just applied on my ARC form as "Samuel"... While I'm not sure why you are so desperate to push for an FTC fine, it's your life, your time, and your company. You already left your VPN off at least once, and if you don't know how to apply a filter on a query, I doubt you are covering your tracks as well as you think you are. Keep going as long as you feel necessary. You can't scratch me where it matters, and you never will.