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Somebody on Facebook asked me to register on the adidas confirmed app and be ready to click tomorrow 4pm so he could get the shoes and, if I am quick enough, he gives me 350€ on Saturday when we go get the shoes (in Paris, I'm French)...

Is this a scam? Should I do it?

Here's the message (translated from French)

  • Download the app "adidas confirmed"
  • Connect into the app with Xxxx email address and XXXX password
  • Modify the info with your real name, and birthdate
  • You'll see a white pair of shoes appear, choose them and choose size 42 (EU)
  • Be on the app tomorrow 5 minutes before the reservation opens
  • At 4pm a button will appear in the app and you'll need to click it as fast as possible
  • It'll load for a few seconds and then tell you if you reserved the shoes or not
  • If yes contact me and we'll go get the shoes in the Marais (place in Paris) and I'll give you 350€
Dheer
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juleslasne
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5 Answers5

11

If you are downloading the app from legit stores [Apple store, Google Play], then it is fine. Adidas is indeed running a campain to get more users download the app and get exclusive shoes that they don't intend to sell in retail market.

The adidas strategy seems to make the product exclusive and available only to individuals. Note you have to be in person and show photo ID at the adidas retail outlet, pay and pick-up the shoes. One can only register once per phone number. The reservation is random, first come first reserved.

The person on facebook is trying to circumvent this by having quite a few people download the app and book. He is then looking at buying this from you. Not sure what would the price of shoes be and is the 350 EUR in addition to the price of the shoes that you need to pay the store.

I couldn't find about Paris, but there were similar campaigns in US last December.

WHY DO I HAVE TO REGISTER IN THE CONFIRMED APP? In order to have a chance to get a reservation through adidas Confirmed you need to sign up in the app. If you are able to get a reservation, we will use this information (plus your photo ID) to verify your identity when you pick up.

WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO MAKE A RESERVATION?
STEP 1: Create an account in the app, verify through SMS, and enable location services and push notifications.
STEP 2: Follow @adidasoriginals on Twitter to learn when reservations open.
STEP 3: Once the reservation period begins, open the app and navigate to a product page to select your size and confirm your reservation. You must be located within New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles areas to participate.
STEP 4: If you get a reservation within adidas Confirmed you will receive a retail location and timeframe for pickup within the app.
STEP 5: Go to the designated location to complete purchase and receive product.

Dheer
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4

Definitely sounds like scam. Odds are are high that the page he gave you the link to is a fake and this app is pure identity theft. Run away, unless you are interested enough to do the work to check with the company and confirm this is legitimate.

Nobody contacts strangers with this kind of story without it being a scam. The fact that this one sounds shady is an attempt to keep you from questioning it too closely. Think about it: if it was at all legitimate, couldn't he find a friend of a friend? If it sounds too good to be true, it ain't true.

Never download software unless you know exactly where it is coming from. It could be anything from ransomware, to something that first steals all you financial info, then uss you mail account to send a similar pitch to all your friends, to a botnet that uses your machine to attack other machines.

keshlam
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3

Any time someone starts asking you to provide personal information, such as a birth date, it could very well be a scam. This is especially true if it's someone you don't even know. Be very careful about getting involved in such situations.

There is always some kind of almost believable story to what the scammers tell you, and unless you're willing to look deeper into it then it's easy to get pulled in. On top of that, you have to ask yourself, "why did they pick me for this?", because that's the real question.

You have no idea what else the software they're asking you to download might do that you wouldn't know about, but offering to pay you something is a good way for them to get you to bypass your own security by installing it yourself.

If the offer sounds too good to be true or too easy, you have to question it, and in such cases, your best bet is to stay away from it altogether.

Daniel Anderson
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Alright it's been a little and I just realized I haven't kept you guys updated

Everything went perfectly well. I met the guy I was supposed to meet in front of the store, I queued up with everybody else and the guy handed me discretly 650€. We went in, I bought the shoes, I gave them to him and he stayed inside the store because he was waiting for an uber and outside there was a lot of people who wanted the shoes (80 of them in france) so yeah, I just walked out with 430€ in my walled and here I am, doing perfectly fine with money in my wallet :D End of story, or not because i'll be watching out to other shoes so I can do the same again and apparently 650€ was like waaay underpriced

juleslasne
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Alright so so far the info I got is the fact that the guy seems to be honests and is a guy who wants to own every snicker he can. He is offering me 650€ for me to pick them up with him. I am going there myself at 3.30pm on Saturday, I'll keep you updated :)

juleslasne
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