Is this a scam?

Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Is this a scam?

Hi All,

I've been sent this email from "Bob":

Subject: Possible Coverage of Haunted House Quest

I am Senior Writer at The Adrenaline Vault, a leading web-based magazine
for gamers. I write an annual awards article on the top casual games of
the year (mostly from indie developers), and want to consider your game
Haunted House Quest for possible inclusion in the 2008 roundup. If you
wish to see the 2007 article, go to:
http://www.avault.com/?p=1537

To evaluate your game and determine whether it will be included in my
article, I would need the full registered version; so could you please send
me the download URL or the registration code as soon as possible? I will
keep what you send me completely confidential. I will be testing your
software on a non-Internet-connected computer (for a variety of reasons),
so the registration system cannot require even temporary Internet access.

Thanks a lot!

Take Care,

Bob

Bob Mandel

Senior Writer/Game Editor
The Adrenaline Vault http://www.avault.com

I checked the header of the email and to me (I'm no expert in this) it looks okay:

Received: from xsmtp04.mail2web.com ([168.144.250.226]) by c08.privatesystems.net with esmtps (TLSv1:AES256-SHA:256) (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from <bob at avault.com>) id 1KmsRg-00048v-P6 for sales at therevillsgames.com; Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:56:28 -0400
from [168.144.108.2] (helo=M2W002.mail2web.com) by xsmtp04.mail2web.com with smtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from <bob at avault.com>) id 1KmsRb-00015X-RR for sales at therevillsgames.com; Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:56:25 -0400

So I replied to "Bob", but it bounced back:

<bob at avault.com>: maildir delivery failed: "The user you are trying to reach is
over quota."

Which I find quite strange... so is it a scam?

Plash

Regardless, I don't think any one would value avault's reviews (I've never heard of them).

IMO it's probably real, but I wouldn't bother giving him squat.

GfK

Regardless, I don't think any one would value avault's reviews (I've never heard of them).

Um, Adrenaline Vault (avault) is a huge site.

If your game gets a mention there, it certainly won't do any harm.

IMO it's probably real, but I wouldn't bother giving him squat.

A moot point, as you've nothing to give. ;)

Bill Stanbrook

The site seems genuine enough. It has a Google pagerank of 6, which indicates that it has a lot of backlinks, and that Google gives it a lot of authority. Certainly, a review on a PR6 game review site is not something to be disregarded.

Bob Mandel is listed as the senior writer on their 'about' page. Whether or not that's the guy who sent you the email is a different story.

I'd recommend only replying to the guy via an email on the avault.com domain, or try to contact them via the site's forum (or a site contact form or email if you can find one).

As far as the overflowing email box goes - stuff-ups happen even with professional organizations.

Even if you do give the guy a free copy, at worst you've given away a sale you probably wouldn't have made to the guy anyway.

sswift

You have very little to lose by giving the guy a free copy and hundreds of dollars to gain. Avault is a very well known site. I doubt someone would go to the trouble to impersonate someone from there to scam you out of a copy of your halloween puzzle game.

I would find an alternative email address on avault, email them a copy of the letter, a link tot he game, and let them know about the email bounce.

TaskMaster

I would do as the other guy said and email from a link at avault. You have more than just one sale to lose. The guy is asking for a full version that has zero copy protection. If you previously had copy protection, then it is all for naught if this gets leaked.

Ginger Tea

The guy is asking for a full version that has zero copy protection.

nope hes asking for a fully registered product that (for some reason) wont talk to the internet

To evaluate your game and determine whether it will be included in my article, I would need the full registered version; so could you please send me the download URL or the registration code as soon as possible? I will keep what you send me completely confidential. I will be testing your software on a non-Internet-connected computer (for a variety of reasons), so the registration system cannot require even temporary Internet access.

-=Darkheart=-

As long as the guy is really from Avault they are fine. Avault has been going for many years and used to be a really big review site, they are completely legitimate. They have suffered from the market consolidation recently that has left them a bit out in the cold.

However having your game mentioned on the site or reviewed by them is definaly a good thing and can only help your sales. It's definatly worth a free copy of the game for the guy to evaluate it.

I'd be rather pleased if I were you, to have the senior editor asking you to submit your game means it has at least peaked their interest.

The rebound is probably beacuse his inbox is flooded with competition entrys!

Try emailing him again and good luck with the competition!

Darkheart

GfK

If you're that concerned, compile a 'speshul' version that will cease to work after a certain date. Give it a 60 day limit or so. I'm sure Kev's Blitzmax Software Protector can help you with this and it'd be a pretty cheap solution. Its only a few $.

If that really is Bob Mandel - and I see no evidence to suggest that it isn't - he'll completely understand a developer's reluctance to send a completely DRM-free product into the abyss.

Why0Why

#10

avault and Bob Mandel have been around for years, they are certainly legit. The key is figuring out if it is really him/them. Regardless, as stated above it is one copy on a sale that you wouldn't have gotten anyway and the potential gain is significant.

TaskMaster

#11

The guy is asking for a full version that has zero copy protection.

nope hes asking for a fully registered product that (for some reason) wont talk to the internet

Let's see...

Can't talk to the Internet. So, you can't check the Internet for a serial number, and it is registered. That is basically not copy protected in my book.

Will it matter if you compile his name into it, if it isn't really him? Nope.

D4NM4N

#12

I would email "bob" and get a dialogue going. I got contacted once from a magazine in india about one of my prods. I investigated/followed it up and it was indeed genuine :/

Grey Alien

#13

Yeah I've heard of avault too before. Good luck if it pans out to be for real.

Retimer

#14

I had a very similar email regarding having my game thrown into a game magazine page along with a biography for it as I was very young when I released my first online rpg. I wondered the same thing, but it turned out to be true...and seeing my picture, name and game in a magazine was pretty awesome.

It looks legit, take the chance...DO IT!

Edit:

But take gfk's advice on a custom compile.