The Mind Of The Fraud.

[icarus]

A Trip Inside The Mind Of The Plagiarist

First, I was just plagiarized on ff.net by someone calling themselves Cedric17. Their story (like mine) is called Skinny Dipping and was posted on 7/11/06.

My story Skinny Dipping was posted on my own site and adultfanfiction.net on 7/12/2003. Please take a moment to contact Fanfiction.net to let them know to take it down. You just click the Review button and there's an option to report abuse.

That said, I am not surprised. A lot of Harry Potter fanfiction writers have been plagiarised. I have been prepared for this since my first fanfic in Harry Potter, and have gone through great trouble to spread my fic far and wide -- with my name stamped in neon across it -- to prevent it from succeeding. The more people who recognise my stories, the more likely the plagiarist will be caught.

Here's why. In 2002, my first beta for Primer to the Dark Arts was extremely strange (not CLS, who ended up beta-ing the whole thing). After reading the first three chapters she emailed me, "This sounds very familiar. You didn't take this from someone else did you? You can tell me, nudge, nudge, wink-wink."

I was floored.

What freaked me out most was her positive attitude about plagiarists. In my experience (and yes, I have experience with very bad people, unfortunately) con artists invariably accuse other people of the sorts of things they themselves do. Because they think they're normal and that "everyone does it."

It occurred to me that I was not established writer and I could be very, very screwed if she plagiarised my stuff. How would I prove that the I was the original author if it hadn't even been posted yet? So I posted the first three chapters of Primer to the Dark Arts wiht alacrity, unbeta'd, then sent her a quick note that I'd update it with her changes. She was furious and commented in reviews that the story "could have been great!" had she continued as the beta. (Later I ran across messages from a mod to her on a twincest Yahoo Group. Apparently she'd been making veiled threats to members, so yeah, not the most stable person.) Her attempt to "stake a claim" to the story made me feel like I'd dodged the bullet.

When cursescar, loupnoir, and cybele_san were plagiarised, I wondered what on earth the plagiarist got out of this? In all cases they grabbed an obscure story, not one that would garner a lot of attention (Skinny Dipping is Harry/Percy, not exactly a magnet pairing). Then, once they were caught, they got all kinds of nasty reviews. What could they accomplish?

I have dealt with in my life two millionaire con-artists (one of whom faces criminal charges if he sets foot in the US, the other was arrested and is being investigated by the IRS), one petty con-artist who ripped off an employer and myself, a coworker from a well-to-do family who stole tens of thousands from an employer of mine, and one online con-artist who attempted to scam myself and a number of other people in the Harry Potter fandom in 2004. Apparently it's my karma.

Drawing on my experience with such people, I would like to take you on a trip inside the mind of the plagiarist. Bring a flashlight. It's a scary, dark place. With spiders.

Entitlement. First, these types all seem to believe that they are owed something by the rest of the world. They all have this song and dance about how hard their life was compared to others, it was so unfair -- the world (by which they mean you) owes them. They are not ripping you off, they are being given their due. The means are acceptable because, the world being unfair, they won't be given what's rightfully theirs otherwise. What is their due? Why, everything they want, of course.

Arrogance. Second, it's fun for them. They enjoy the scam. They like what they can get out of it if they win, sure... the money, the reviews, the attention. But the process itself boosts their ego. Every person they fool makes them feel smarter than the rest of the world. The more clever the scam, the more loops they manage to slip, the better they feel. It's proof that yes, they are owed more, because look how much smarter they are than these suckers. When they're caught, all they do is try to figure out where they slipped up so they can play the game better. Any police officer can tell you that murderers and bank robbers will admit what they did was wrong, but con artists never do.

Minimizing. Third, they all seem to say, yes, "everyone does it" and "these idiots would be taken by someone, so why not me?" They believe that there is no harm done and that the world is unaffected by their actions. This "stupidity" (in their eyes) is a like a terminal disease: the end is inevitable.

Laziness. Fourth, it's easier to take what someone else has than to work for it yourself. Writing a story can take days of effort, while plagiarising only takes minutes -- with the same results (in their minds). And fewer risks. Why marry a woman who might gain weight, when you can steal someone else's wife after seeing exactly how she turned out, post-wedding?

Envy. Fifth, and this goes with that sense of entitlement, these people seem to want so much. There's no end to it. They look at a beautiful house, and instead of seeing "hey, what a nice house" they say, "why isn't my house that nice?" And once they've stolen something or conned someone into buying them that house, they just want something else.

Self-absorption. Sixth, and this varies in degree from con to con, but inevitably they are far more important than anyone else in the universe. It's almost childish, their focus on "me." One extreme is the sociopath (and yes, I have run into this). As it was explained to me, they don't even view people as beings with thoughts and feelings like themselves. People are like furniture to them. They may like that piece of furniture but they don't have any personal feelings towards it, of course not. So they can be very pleasant... and then slit your throat for your wallet. Nothing personal. They just needed the wallet.

The less extreme cases figure out ways where their victims "deserve it." They'll say "oh, well, he's a rich asshole" or "that person's a BNF." It's similar to the way the military brands their enemy as "Japs" or "Terrorists," stripping away the human underneath, leaving a label instead.

How's that flashlight holding up? Yeah, I know, it's a little dank, with low ceilings. Watch your step, we're now getting into the next chamber: Why That Fic from That Author.

This last item is why plagiarists (especially kids) tend to steal from people they consider BNFs instead of stealing stories from new authors (where they could get away with it more easily). New authors are more likely to be "people" to them; they relate to them in ways that they don't relate to the BNF.

They steal obscure stories (I think cursescar had a Ron/Ginny story ripped off) because they want to succeed. Plagiarising Cassandra Claire's "Draco Trilogy" is like stealing from the front of the store; a little hard to pull off. But grabbing the "Durmstrang Chronicles" from loupnoir? That's more doable. "Beg Me For It" is a hard to get away with... but "Skinny Dipping"? It's on the back shelf. You can slide it under your jacket.

Okay, now into the light... What Do You Do? (beyond the obvious of course)

Knowing what we know about the con (and make no mistake, although plagiarism is theft, its purpose is to con people into thinking they wrote that story) what do you do? You can't reform the plagiarist or con-artist. They are not concerned with the feelings of others. Instead, you have to lay down the law.

1 - get "their" story taken down. Take away the object that they want. Take away the house. Take away the stuff -- that's what they want.

2 - rob them of the pleasure of fooling people. Cut off that feeling of superiority. Let them know they were caught, and how easily. How transparent they were. Public humiliation works best.

How will the con-artist respond?

Have your evidence ready. For plagiarism this is pretty easy. But be aware:

The con-artist invariably plays their role to the hilt.

Once they are caught, well, they've had no compunction about lying until now. Of course they stick to their guns. More than that, suddenly they become the falsely accused martyr. Their only recourse is to distract, muddy the waters, switch the blame, and put the victim on trial.

The new game is to convince as many people as possible that they have been wronged by the person they stole from. The more empathy they can garner, the more they can continue to get that happy feeling of fooling other people. Plus they get to hold on to the "thing" (whatever it was they wanted) just a little bit longer while it's in doubt. I've seen a con even use the supposed "attack" as a fundraiser. They created a "legal fund," garnered donations, and then just walked off with the money.

This is the part that makes me particularly sick. Because they play on the good-heartedness of people and their faith in humanity. The actions of a con-artist can be difficult to believe. So the con's new victims are their friends and supporters. While they're being offered kindness, they're enjoying tricking the very people who care.

The care is not reciprocated. There will be a lot of signs. If the friends shift the topic to themselves away from what the con wants -- they'll be cut short. Or the con will listen, and then complain about having to listen, or extract a price for it, "I've listened to you and now you won't listen to me." Nothing is for free with these people. Or else their interest will be quite superficial and, well, it'll be apparent they're just saying what their friends want to hear. In person, you'll see an out-of-place expression flicker across their face. They'll turn hard-eyed for a moment while they're playing the concerned listener.

The more they want from you the harder they will work to play their part. That's why con-artists are often caught by kids. The kids don't have the cash so the con doesn't play the role that well. Ask the kids what they think. Also, ask the receptionist. The janitor. The waitress. The people who go unnoticed.

If you manage to convince the supporters that they've been had, well, maybe they won't be fooled in the future but they also will become a little less trusting, perhaps even a little less kind. To my mind, that's where the real harm lies. Not in the original fraud but in the way they compound it later.




ETA: Here's where Skinny Dipping was first posted in LJ, 7/03.





Great news! It's been pulled. It's gone. The plagiarist is done for. FF.net yanked the story within twenty-four hours. Thank you all for sending the Abuse reports. *Icarus breathes a heavy sigh of relief*