Scammer tries to rip off Potter fans

Do you know how Jo is always alerting us to scams? I want to make sure that no one wastes their money on an ebook that purports to provide the key to all the answers to Book 7. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Here's the scam: He claims to be a private investigator who has spent 7 years compiling information from the books and interviews and developed a key that provides all the answers. It must not be much because in order to sweeten the deal, he offers copious amounts of bonus material he claims to have created himself. Don't believe it -- this bonus material is all from the Lexicon, from Accio Quote, and from Jo’s website. Much of what he is selling is available for FREE!

The Lexicon's lawyer has sent him a cease and desist letter. They are suing him for "unfair competition through [his] fraudulent, deceptive and dishonest trade practices."

This scumbag is advertising his book on fan forums and in local (Utah) newspapers. Don't get taken in, OK?

New Leaky Interview with Michael Goldenberg

As I search the internet for new articles I often wonder: "How do I know someone didn't just make this up and post it?" So I try to corroborate the existence of the interview several different ways, unless my source is from an official news database or archive. I have gradually been adding "source" notes to the bottom of our interviews as the information is re-confirmed.

Fan reports of interviews are problematic too, unless there is a video to check against. For example, when the Owen Jones interview was finally transcribed I realized that one of the fan reports we had relied upon added a statement that wasn't broadcast (don't worry, it has been removed from our listings). I guess they couldn't resist editorializing.

So yesterday I read with dismay about the supposed interview of OotP screenwriter Michael Goldenberg that turned out to be wholly fabricated. Today Melissa from Leaky News has released a real interview of Goldenberg that sets the record straight. It's a good read.

By the way, I will not be archiving or indexing non-JKR interviews on Accio Quote! even if they have something juicy. However, I will be posting about them here on the blog.