# Adobe Photoshop spam - what's the deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848 "2003-06-23T19:18:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/1 "2003-06-23T19:18:14Z")
I keep getting emails advertising Adobe Photoshop 7.0 for some ridiculously low price; I think it’s $49 or something. Adobe retails the software for over $600. What’s the deal with this, is it some kind of scam? If I follow the link in the email, it takes me to this site, which has an order form to fill out. They claim they will mail the software to you. [http://www.directdealsnow.com/index.cfm?aid=7&oid=77&pid=246](http://www.directdealsnow.com/index.cfm?aid=7&oid=77&pid=246) I am in no way promoting this web site. Please don’t give them any personal info; I’m not responsible if you do. I’m just posting the link for help in evaluating whether this is a scam. Anyone know anything about this one? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/2 "2003-06-23T19:36:18Z")
Well, it says it’s the OEM version, which usually comes with hardware, but that still seems like an insanely low price if it’s the full featured product. I don’t know this for a fact, but I would suspect that it’s either pirated, or it’s a ploy to get credit card numbers. It’s too good to be true. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/3 "2003-06-23T20:00:19Z")
Pirate copies, has to be. Same goes for the spam you get for cut-price virus protection software. It’s **expensive** pirate copies too. Even if you did get what you ordered, which is certainly not guaranteed (and which, of course, you’d have no legal right to even if you did) is this really the kind of organisation you want to entrust with your credit card details? Not to be gone within a hundred miles of. (Also, you do realize that your link there has a unique ID and probably relates back to your email address in their spam database? Their web log now confirms you (and others) opened their link, making you ideal for further spam. You should have stripped everything off the URL after the ‘?’ ) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/4 "2003-06-23T20:23:29Z")
Hmmm, [DirectDealsNow.com](http://DirectDealsNow.com) just popped up June 16th. It’s previous incarnations, “[HotDealFactory.com](http://HotDealFactory.com)”, “[Great-Dealtime.com](http://Great-Dealtime.com)”, and “[Digitalimagingdeals.com](http://Digitalimagingdeals.com)” had pretty short lifespans. Someone in [this usenet thread from April](http://groups.google.ca/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&th=f5966a8d135e2c1e&seekm=1de8c84b.9%40WebX.la2eafNXanI#link11) submitted a piracy report to Adobe about this ‘company’ and received this reply: > [@](#): > > Hello, > Thank you for your recent report. This offer is of illegal software. We advise you to refrain from purchasing from these pirates. > > ``` > Sincerely, > Adobe Investigations/Anti-Piracy Enforcement Department > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/5 "2003-06-23T20:25:28Z")
Its. _Its._ Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/6 "2003-06-23T20:54:51Z")
I saw a similiar story on TechTV the other night about Norton Security software. They showed legit software and counterfeit software side-by-side. you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. The fake stuff was loaded with spyware, trojan horses, etc. I’m sure the Adobe stuff is the same. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/7 "2003-06-23T21:05:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > (Also, you do realize that your link there has a unique ID and probably relates back to your email address in their spam database? Their web log now confirms you (and others) opened their link, making you ideal for further spam. You should have stripped everything off the URL after the ‘?’ ) No, I’m afraid I’m ignorant as to how those things work. Perhaps a moderator could edit my post? Also, thanks for the info, Larry. ---
**Author:** ![SoulSearching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@SoulSearching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulSearching)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/8 "2003-06-23T22:06:52Z")
How could these pirates continue to stay in business? If they indeed are: “[HotDealFactory.com](http://HotDealFactory.com)”, “[Great-Dealtime.com](http://Great-Dealtime.com)”, and “[Digitalimagingdeals.com](http://Digitalimagingdeals.com)”, then have they not been busted by the FBI or whoever long ago with severe fines and/or jailtime? Unfortunately, I think law enforcement just doesn’t care about cyber crimes to put forth significant effort in stopping it. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/9 "2003-06-23T22:22:58Z")
Look, if it’s SPAM, even if it’s legit you are supporting the concept of SPAM and making it worthwhile if you buy it. Regardless of whether it’s legit or not, please don’t become part of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photoshop-spam-whats-the-deal/183848/10 "2003-06-23T22:33:00Z")
**SoulSearching** , that’s why the “Hot Deals Corporation” has a Nevada address-- they’re probably taking advantage of Nevada’s “[corporate veil](http://www.incorporatenow.com/pages/benefits_corporateveil.html).” > [@](#): > > Nevada corporations go several steps further to provide the highest degree of privacy to its actual owners, or stockholders. > Nevada is the only state that does not have a record sharing compact with other states or the US federal government. > […] > The greatest risk of an ownership interest being uncovered is from “loose lips” of the owner himself and disclosing his ownership interests in the corporation to the wrong person. The actual nature of business and its physical location are not required to be documented. Note: link is a company offering to help people in other states and nations incorporate in Nevada for a fee, which is itself pretty shifty, and probably a scam in itself. Also, they’ve used those various domain names just in the last few months, which isn’t a very long period of time in the grand scheme of things. It’s one thing to pull their hosting or dns-references out from underneath them, but it’s another to locate them in meatspace and properly collar 'em. No doubt they’ll get theirs eventually, though.