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SecurityQuiet 9d · day 9

Scam site AO3.life exploits AO3 outage with fake audiobook payouts

A phishing site scrapes cached fanfiction from the offline Archive of Our Own and dangles bogus royalty payments to harvest authors' emails.

newest coverage 8d agosummary written 7d ago3 pieces NewswiresGoogle News

What to know

  • AO3 remains offline after a security incident and may stay down for weeks.
  • AO3.life scraped an outdated, cached copy of AO3, reposting deleted or private works without authors' consent.
  • The site asks authors to email from their AO3-linked account to collect payment or remove works, which users flag as a phishing/doxxing scheme.
  • OTW says it is aware and pursuing legal action, but warns removal will take time.

Organization for Transformative Works Nonprofit parent of AO3Archive of Our Own (AO3) Fanfiction archiveAO3.life operators Unidentified creators of the scam site

Scam site AO3.life exploits AO3 outage with fake audiobook payouts
Kotaku

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles

Peak 2 pieces in two hours at Nov 2, 3 PM; 3 pieces over 9 days (3 articles) Nov 2, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Nov 2, 5 AM — quietNov 2, 7 AM — quietNov 2, 9 AM — quietNov 2, 11 AM — quietNov 2, 1 PM — quietNov 2, 3 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 1, Newswires 1Nov 2, 5 PM — quietNov 2, 7 PM — quietNov 2, 9 PM — quietNov 2, 11 PM — quietNov 3, 1 AM — quietNov 3, 3 AM — quietNov 3, 5 AM — quietNov 3, 7 AM — quietNov 3, 9 AM — quietNov 3, 11 AM — quietNov 3, 1 PM — quietNov 3, 3 PM — quietNov 3, 5 PM — quietNov 3, 7 PM — quietNov 3, 9 PM — quietNov 3, 11 PM — quietNov 4, 1 AM — quietNov 4, 3 AM — quietNov 4, 5 AM — quietNov 4, 7 AM — quietNov 4, 9 AM — quietNov 4, 11 AM — quietNov 4, 1 PM — quietNov 4, 3 PM — quietNov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 7 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 4, 11 PM — quietNov 5, 1 AM — quietNov 5, 3 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 7 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 11 AM — quietNov 5, 1 PM — quietNov 5, 3 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 7 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 11 PM — quietNov 6, 1 AM — quietNov 6, 3 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 7 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 11 AM — quietNov 6, 1 PM — quietNov 6, 3 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 7 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 11 PM — quietNov 7, 1 AM — quietNov 7, 3 AM — quietNov 7, 5 AM — quietNov 7, 7 AM — quietNov 7, 9 AM — quietNov 7, 11 AM — quietNov 7, 1 PM — quietNov 7, 3 PM — quietNov 7, 5 PM — quietNov 7, 7 PM — quietNov 7, 9 PM — quietNov 7, 11 PM — quietNov 8, 1 AM — quietNov 8, 3 AM — quietNov 8, 5 AM — quietNov 8, 7 AM — quietNov 8, 9 AM — quietNov 8, 11 AM — quietNov 8, 1 PM — quietNov 8, 3 PM — quietNov 8, 5 PM — quietNov 8, 7 PM — quietNov 8, 9 PM — quietNov 8, 11 PM — quietNov 9, 1 AM — quietNov 9, 3 AM — quietNov 9, 5 AM — quietNov 9, 7 AM — quietNov 9, 9 AM — quietNov 9, 11 AM — quietNov 9, 1 PM — quietNov 9, 3 PM — quietNov 9, 5 PM — quietNov 9, 7 PM — quietNov 9, 9 PM — quietNov 9, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quiet 1–2
Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9now · 5:43 AM ET
  1. 1

    OTW confirms it is pursuing removal of the scam site

    Social media users identified the email request as a phishing/doxxing tactic; the Organization for Transformative Works, AO3's parent nonprofit, acknowledged the site via a message posted by a moderator on the AO3 subreddit and said it is taking legal steps to get it taken down.

    “We are aware and are taking action, but please be patient because the legal system is much slower than online life.”
    — Organization for Transformative Works
  2. background

    Site offers fake audiobook royalty split to lure author emails — AO3.life claims it will sell authors' fics as audiobooks and split proceeds "91% to the author, 9% to ao3.life," requiring authors to email from the account tied to their AO3 profile to collect payment or remove their work.

  3. 2

    Site 'AO3.life' surfaces hosting scraped AO3 fics

    AO3.life appeared claiming to be a replacement for the offline archive, but it hosts an outdated cached scrape that includes deleted or privated works reposted without authors' consent.

  4. background

    AO3 goes offline after a security incident — The fanfiction archive Archive of Our Own was taken offline following a security incident and may remain down for weeks, leaving readers without access to its catalog.