BSA email for sensitive and private data

[defaulth1j9i43n27zd]

Hi everybody,

we received both a call and some emails from a company called BSA (which seems that work for/with Adobe, Autodesk, and others) . They want several private documents and sensitive informations, regarding the Adobe license for the company which I work for. 

Every Adobe software is legally purchased, but, since we bought the software from Adobe we need an official mail from them, in order to send all the sensitive data to this BSA company.

As all of you perfectly know the fake companies or the scams.

It's very difficult to contact or chatting with the Adobe help centre or with an operator, so please I kindly ask for an official Adobe nuber or a mail which I can use to dialogue with them.

[Mike22231960qzfg]

[OP] I have not complied and am not inclined to.  This might make sense in some large corporate environment.  To me, if legit, this is ridiculous.  We are a small company, with 1 full and 3 part-time office staff.  I have made one purchase from Adobe in my life, ever, and if I had other Adobe products installed, without proper purchase and/or licensing, I certainly would NOT give them those serial numbers.  If they want to take my license for that one product, for non-compliance in this matter, fine.  I assure you it will be the last time I own an Adobe license of any kind. 

[kglad]

that makes sense to me.

[ProDesignTools]

> "if I had other Adobe products installed, without proper purchase and/or licensing, ..."

Hopefully that is just hypothetical – if not, then that could be the issue?

Companies like BSA no doubt have bigger fish to fry, but a $150K penalty is nothing to sneeze at. So, there is potentially more at stake for any company than just losing their license(s), if pirated software were being used.

In any event, everyone here (including me) is simply expressing their opinion, and should not be taken as legal advice. Best of luck!

[Mel33033432n6c8]

BSA makes their money through threat and harrassment as far as I can tell on the internet. Without a register mail letter this is nothing more than a scam. All of our software at this point is Creative Cloud versions.

[kevin stohlmeyer]

@Mel33033432n6c8 have you read this thread at all before making such inflammatory statements?

[Mel33033432n6c8]

Inflamatory nothing, look outside this thread.

[Marcia331922776pbt]

I am the attorney for a small business receiving these emails. Yes, BSA is legit but I do not believe the emails are. I attemped to reply to the email and it was blocked for security reasons. I called the 325 number which was forward to an unidentified voice mail. Left message and no response.  Further the two individuals identified in the original "BSA" email have zero online presence .    Absent any other means of contact, I plan to send an old-fashioned letter to BSA requesting clarification (without identifying my contact).  Audits by BSA made more sense before the market turned to subscription models.  These emails , if read carefully,  do not claim to be an Adobe audit and do not state that response is required. 

[kglad]

@Marcia331922776pbt 

sounds good.  please follow-up.

one of the problems with posts here is that authors seldom (actually i don't recall anyone ever) follow-up with how or if there was an actual audit and feedback from that audit (that's supposed to benefit the organization).

[Marcia331922776pbt]

Here is the follow up. After emailing the BSA letter-senders with no response (multiple times). And leaving multiplevoice mails with no response - I sent a letter to the Washington DC Regional OFfice  stating the above (without naming my client).

Lo and behold, a response from that office came, saying the letters were legitimate, copying the two utterly nonresponsive BSA staff members on the letters and suddenly, Mr HAwkins emailed me (copying the Regional Office person) saying he never received emails or VM.  Obviously incorrect.  In any event, I have continued to copy the Regional office person on exchanges with mr. Hawkins. He and I have a phone call scheduled for the upcoming week. (My issue is a) waste of time and scant resources for a very small business since all Adobe products are now licensed directly from Adobe via subscription and b) the letters from BSA are unclear - one says this is a suggested /recommended self-audit and the other implies it's an audit required by Adobe (like in the old days pre-subscription models).  Obviously my client will comply if it is b) and thank BSA for their interest if it is a).

Exasperating.

[kglad]

wow.  that had to take a lot of time and generate a lot of aggravation. but impressive persistence on your part.

bravo.

it would be helpful if someone here who ignored the bsa letters could mention if there were any consequences.

[Abambo]

Great. I would recommend the client to put a price tag behind the nonresponsive request. 😉

[Test Screen Name]

I feel I should point out that, if your policy is simply to ignore BSA communications, the next thing might be that they turn up with a warrant, and have everyone step away from their computers, which are now evidence and may be shut down for days or weeks (including servers), closing the office until they are finished. Certainly, you could go out of business in that time. At least, that is the experience described here https://slashdot.org/story/01/07/07/1829241/how-do-bsa-raids-work

[kglad]

@Test Screen Name 

sending emails is not a valid way to serve any legal document (in the usa), so they're not going to be able to obtain a search warrant on the basis of any unmet email demands.  ie,they would need enough evidence of fraud to obtain a search warrant, and that evidence is typically obtained without any contact with the (suspected) perpetrator. an email or other contact would be a last chance courtesy after evidence (eg, testimony of disgruntled employees) has already been secured.

[Lumigraphics]

A private entity cannot get a search warrant in the United States. A law enforcement agency has to go before a judge and swear to the particulars of a case per the Constitution.

Judicial systems obviously vary around the world so things will depend on your locality. Talk to your attorney.

[ReachFullSail]

Confirmed with Adobe this is a scam. Block! Don't even send to your lawyer. 

[kglad]

thank you for that @ReachFullSail 

[ProDesignTools]

Who did you confirm it with at Adobe?

[Dave293472017qlz]

I can confirm this is definitely a scam, as I contacted Adobe support and they assured me it is and to report it to the Phishing@Adobe.com email address.

[KENT25867856px89]

Just confirmed with Adobe that this is a scam.

[kglad]

thank you for the update.

[Mr Creative 1970]

Well it was no scam with us so I am not sure who you were speak too

[Abambo]

In most all cases those e-mails are scam. Legit requests woul take a different form. 

[Thomas281352969fcf]

We received something similar.

I requested a confirmation of legitimacy from adobe and received it as follows:

---

Dear Thomas,

Thank you for reaching out and checking on the status of the requested license review by the BSA.  Adobe would like to confirm that the approach from the BSA is legitimate, and that they are authorized to perform a license review on behalf of Adobe.

For the majority of our valued customers, the process of completing a license review is found to be beneficial and supports organizations in understanding regulatory, productivity and financial risks and opportunities.

While the right to conduct a formal review is based on the license verification clause (clause 15), the intention here is for the BSA to provide an insightful and collaborative engagement, around purchasing, deployment, security, and productivity.

The BSA will reach out again over the next 3 business working days, and we would be grateful if the organization could support them with this review process.

Please refer to the FAQ attached which will provide more information

Kind regards,

//name removed for this forum post//
EMEA LICENSE MANAGER

---

So I assumed their legitimacy, provided the requested documents and even received a confirmation on the success of the audit.

Today I received a very impolite email from the same person accusing me of not responding to their enquiries. 

I have forwarded the issue to Adobe support

[kglad]

@Thomas281352969fcf 

clause 15 only applies if you're a business (presumably meaning if you have a teams or enterprise license), though that's pretty sloppy language for a purported legal document.

[KENT25867856px89]

Called Adobe again and was told it was legit.