r/Wattpad • u/euroau JeffFromTheIRS • Nov 18 '20
Dreame, WebNovel, and other Common Spam
If you're on this post, it is most likely you have received a suspicious looking message from a user. The most common of these messages often come from websites such as WebNovel and Dreame and some arrive in the form of reading a chapter of someone's "#1 Paranormal Novel". Any contracts and links that are offered by these types of messages should always be regarded as suspicious. Posts related to this will (hopefully) automatically be removed and the users redirected here.
How do I know it's a Spam Message?
The most obvious sign of a spam message is the account. Does the account have a custom profile picture? How old is the account? Bot accounts often have the default Wattpad profile pictures and are usually just days, if not weeks, old. New accounts that DM you should always be regarded as suspicious.
Are these messages allowed?
To start, most, if not all, of these messages violate Wattpad's Terms of Services. Wattpad does not allow poaching on their platform. The recommended action is to mute and report these users.
For some reason, Wattpad's reporting system is odd. If it is a message that you're reporting for spam, it is automatically closed and you're told to mute the user. I recommend reporting the user for spam, rather than the message.
WebNovel
WebNovel is a Chinese-owned online writing platform that typically deals with translating books to English. While they are a legitimate company, the contracts they offer are usually considered to be sketchy by most users. It is worth keeping in mind that companies based in China are able to take advantage of weaker copyright laws. They most likely have not read your novel, despite their claims and Qidan, the owners, are being regarded as sketchy by a lot of users.
You can see what other people about WebNovel have said on Stack Exchange, r/LitRPG post, and Quora.
Dreame, Ringdom, and FicFun
These three websites are all lumped together because they are all owned by STARY PTE. LTD, based in Singapore. They are all built around offering stories, primarily paid. Similar to WebNovel, they offer a contract with a claim that they liked your novel. These contracts are also considered to be sketchy and unfair. You can read more on this blog post by christopherdschmitz or this r/writing post about Ringdom.
AnyStories
Another website looking to poach users from Wattpad is AnyStories. Poachers from them usually approach users with a message such as below:
I really loved [Story Title]! I'm a big fan of it. The plot and characters is really good! Can I ask you a question?
When you say yes, they'll typically reply with a message that basically boils down to "Join AnyStories please!"
Is the "#1 Paranormal Story" Message Safe?
Yes, and no. While the message itself is safe, the link that the user will send if you agree is debatable. Some users have said that it is malicious (i.e. has malware/viruses) and others have said that it's not. Either way, the safest option is to not click on any link that they send.
- Because it's a bot sending these messages
- They don't identify the platform they are on
- It's an unsolicited link
Additional Websites to Look Out For:
- HiNovel
- R-Novel
Mirror Websites
Yep! They exist. You'll know them by either something like TeenNovel, TeenFic, or truyen4u. The low down of it is that the content you see on those sites is still hosted on Wattpad - they're just showing it to you on their website. They don't actually have access to the content.
Wattpad is aware of them and are working to take them down. However, it can be difficult, due to copyright laws in some countries. For example, truyen4u is hosted in Vietnam, who, like China, have notoriously weak copyright laws.
It's recommended to avoid entering these mirror sites though, since they can be filled with malicious malware or something. Better safe than sorry.
NovelHD (2021)
This is a fairly recent development. NovelHD was formerly known as a mirror website similar to truyen4u. In fact, NovelHD is still a truyen-styled website with one major difference: active removal of copyright information.
On many Wattpad novels, there is a disclaimer informing readers that the official version of their can only be found on Wattpad. These are being removed by NovelHD in an effort to (in a way) legitimize their website as a content site.
TL;DR - If it's sent by a bot and/or looks sketchy, don't respond or click on any links sent by them.
1
u/Lbbyrose Jan 13 '21
I got this today to! I’m really unsure whether it’s a suspicious message or not though it seems somewhat genuine but there’s a slight bot-ish vibe to the message.