Survey Emails

[nathanb69526469]

Hello,

I received one of the emails today from Accelerant Research asking me to do a survey for money. Can anyone confirm that this is legitimate?

I can't say the email looked fishy but it didn't look 100% legit either. I was also unable to find a lot of good information (one way or the other) online.

Thanks.

[joanH]

Suggest you forward the email to the local FBI office or enter at your own risk. Sounds a bit too good to be true now, doesn't it.? Probably a SCAM. JH

[jschach47 · Accepted solution]

Just called the number on Accelerant Research's website (which is not a secure site, and the content is all bogus). A guy who calls himself Kevin Rubenstein picked up and said he was the "president" of the company - completely unprofessional, and he could not give me a single piece of verification that his company is legit. He was was a complete and total jerk to me on the phone.

I also followed up with Adobe Customer Support and they confirmed they are participating in no such study.

Don't know how these people got our email addresses, but this is ABSOLUTELY a scam. Report the email as "phishing" to your provider - let's SHUT THEM DOWN.

[nathanb69526469]

Wow, that is crazy. I really appreciate all the info.

The way it was worded seemed like they knew quite a bit about what Adobe products I was using but the look and feel of the whole thing seemed weird.

Thanks again.

[jschach47]

Yeah, the content was pretty convincing, so I stupidly clicked the link out of curiosity before I realized something was phish-y. The form has a low-res Adobe logo at the top of the page - definitely an impersonation. And then the guy was just such a jerk on the phone. Can't say why this made me so angry... maybe because they're preying on perpetually underpaid designers with $$ offers? I've got a pretty keen eye for bs, but I'll admit they got me on this one. Can only hope that they're not doing anything else malicious with our info.

[MAC_Arts___Design]

Knowing that we use specific Adobe products is a bit concerning, I wonder how they found us?

[jschach47]

Any infinite number of ways, considering how much of our data is mined these days.

I reported both emails as phishing to Gmail, and let Adobe customer support know. It takes a little more effort, but if you have the time you can file a formal complaint here: Internet Crime Complaint Center​. If enough of us report the emails maybe they'll take the time to investigate.

This person/people have taken the time to create a website, LinkedIn, google business, etc., so they're either a professional scamming company, or a really shady actual business impersonating Adobe. Either way, I don't feel comfortable with them having my info, and the guy was rude enough on the phone to motivate me to ruin his operation.

[MAC_Arts___Design]

I appreciate your reply. I've filed a complaint with IC3 as well, as you've suggested. I can't stand this type of shit, so I'll gladly try and help ruin this dbag's operation. I'll let you know if I hear anything further.

Thanks,

-Tyler