The best, very best scammers will always ask for your advice. This is their favorite technique. It makes them vulnerable. It flatters your ego.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I'm scammed almost every day. Or, if not scammed, at the very least someone tries to scam me. Usually more than once a day.
One of the most popular scams is what they call account takeover. You write me a check, and I simply go online to a check-printing service and order 200 checks with your account information.
As I've said before, free money scams are a problem.
Many scammers are only using personal checks for payment because they can take the money and run.
I never give advice unless someone asks me for it. One thing I've learned, and possibly the only advice I have to give, is to not be that person giving out unsolicited advice based on your own personal experience.
When I was submitting my first novel, I had no idea that publishing scams existed. I never encountered any, but I could have - and knowing how easily I might have been taken advantage of makes me determined to protect others from falling into that trap.
It's amazing how people will give when you don't ask. Many of them send money because they believe in the message.
The best advice I got as a writer was also the first advice, which came from the late fantasy author and editor Karl Edward Wagner: Any agent who charges to look at your work is a crook.
I'm very wary about giving advice. I think it's very dangerous to give advice to people, except if you know them very well.
Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.