I got this email from vw any body else ?

[Kchorro]

Dear Volkswagen Customer,

This is Anita Sinclair, CEO of Hagen/Sinclair Research. We have been asked to contact VW CUSTOMERS that are VOLKSWAGEN DIESEL VEHICLE ENTHUSIASTS in regards to a PAID CUSTOMER STUDY that may be of interest to you. The topic is DIESEL VEHICLES and VW wants to owners of such vehicles to participate by recording and uploading video diaries about their vehicles. Participants do not need to own a video camera to participate as one will be provided for you.

• DATES: The study will take place from: Saturday, March 10th to Sunday, March 11th

• FORMAT: This study involves recording a video diary about your vehicle that you will download to the internet. A CAMERA for your recording purposes WILL be PROVIDED, FREE of charge. You will have the 2 days to complete approximately assignments. The project will take about 1 hour recording time, and around 1.5 hours in total.

• COMPENSATION: Participants that complete the group will receive the CAMERA plus a $75 STIPEND as a thank you for sharing their time and opinions.

• REFERRALS: Feel free to forward this message to other VW Diesel Owners that may be interested in this study.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, please respond with your contact information. (Your contact information will not be shared with anyone, ever.)
First name:
Last name or last initial:
Day phone:
Evening phone:
Latest we can call in the evening:
Time zone:
Plus the following information on your DIESEL vehicle(s)
Vehicle 1:
Make:
Model:
Year:

Vehicle 2:
Make:
Model:
Year:

NOTE: I am a real person and not a Spambot. This is a legitimate paid research study for Volkswagen Customers. If you respond with interest, I am the person that will call. For verification of Hagen/Sinclair please check out our website at www.hagensinclair.com.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider our invitation. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Best regards,

Anita

--
Anita Sinclair, CEO
HAGEN/SINCLAIR RESEARCH RECRUITING, INC. OAKLAND
sinclaira@hagensinclair.com
Office: 510-654-2451
www.hagensinclair.com

 

[Niner]

Submitted.

 

[Wedge]

Looks like 'If it sounds to good to be true it probably is' may apply here.

I have not seen this email. Note that it does not say that VW has contacted them to do this research. Some marketers must already know that you own diesel.

Cameras are cheap...your identity is priceless (or at least everything you have in the bank).

My two cents.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Sounds like a scam to me. Did you call the lady and ask for details? Would be nice if she could fax or email you something official from VW.

 

[Rico567]

Sounds like a scam to me. Did you call the lady and ask for details? Would be nice if she could fax or email you something official from VW.

I agree with this. Confirmation from VWoA should be quickly & easily come by.

 

[Kchorro]

Yes, it sound like a scam.
I won't do it and I will be traveling those days any way..
To good to be true..

 

[MyAvocation]

Well that's what you get for guessing... a simple Google & BBB search reveals they're legit and rated A+ by the BBB.

There are tons of market research firms out there -- especially in major cities. I've been paid several hundred dollars for participating in both technical and consumer focus groups. My last girlfriend earns a couple thousand a year doing a handful of these nutty surveys a month. There's even a whole sub-culture of folks doing these on the internet.

If they ask for money up front... now that's a scam.

 

[firedwg1]

I used to do this all the time, last time I did this I helped VWoA choose the looks of the new jetta. Once registered you will be asked to come back once a year or so. It can be fun to see the new models.

 

[TDiSkater]

I'm a Director of Market Research for an IL company. While the offer looks like a typical recruitment for a project, I'm troubled by the grammar issue in the email and the VW client disclosure. The $75 fee is in the range I'd pay for a study like this one.

 

[whitedog]

Skater, are these the grammar issues you were thinking of:

VW wants to owners of such vehicles

You will have the 2 days to complete approximately assignments.

 

[TDiSkater]

Yes - That stuff is usually scrubbed pretty well. I'd raise heck with supplier if I were paying $80k or so for a study and that's how my company was represented to current customers.

 

[JSWTDI09]

I got the same email today. I've dealt with car survey things before, and the company looks legit, but I don't know...

Have Fun!

Don

 

[JettaTdiSport]

after you get done, I have a nice piece of real estate to sell you

 

[meowguy]

I received the invitation on March 9. They are supposed to send a video camera for use on March 10 and 11. How are they supposed to make that delivery? Lousy planning and bad grammar as previously mentioned made me shy away.

 

[suparag]

VW Passat TDI Research.

Got this e-mail today. They are requesting for Passat TDI owners only. I don't have one.

Dear Volkswagen Customer,

This is Anita Sinclair, CEO of Hagen/Sinclair Research. We have been asked to contact VW CUSTOMERS that are VOLKSWAGEN DIESEL VEHICLE ENTHUSIASTS in regards to a PAID CUSTOMER STUDY that may be of interest to you. VW is inviting owners of DIESEL PASSATS to participate by recording and uploading video diaries about their vehicles. Participants do not need to own a video camera to participate as one will be provided for you.

• DATES: The study will take place over two days, determined by your enrollment date, during the week March 12th, 2012.

• FORMAT: This study involves recording a video diary about your vehicle that you will download to the internet. A CAMERA for your recording purposes WILL be PROVIDED, FREE of charge. You will have the 2 days to complete approximately nine short assignments. The project will take about 1 hour recording time, and around 1.5 hours in total.

• COMPENSATION: Participants that complete the group will receive the CAMERA plus a $75 STIPEND as a thank you for sharing their time and opinions.

• REFERRALS: Feel free to forward this message to other VW Diesel PASSAT Owners that may be interested in this study.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, please respond with your contact information. (Your contact information will not be shared with anyone, ever.)
First name:
Last name or last initial:
Day phone:
Evening phone:
Latest we can call in the evening:
Time zone:
Plus the following information on your DIESEL vehicle(s)
Vehicle 1:
Make:
Model:
Year:

Vehicle 2:
Make:
Model:
Year:

NOTE: I am a real person and not a Spambot. This is a legitimate paid research study for Volkswagen Customers. If you respond with interest, I am the person that will call. For verification of Hagen/Sinclair please check out our website at www.hagensinclair.com.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider our invitation. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Best regards,

Anita

--
Anita Sinclair, CEO
HAGEN/SINCLAIR RESEARCH RECRUITING, INC. OAKLAND
sinclaira@hagensinclair.com
Office: 510-654-2451
www.hagensinclair.com

 

[VeeDubTDI]

I merged the thread with this one since it was posted a few days ago.

 

[TDiSkater]

Looks like the Passat study had a slightly better editor.

 

[slamhouse]

Looks like spam to me. if the text that would differ from person to person is in caps, then it is almost always spam...

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Their website isn't really anything to write home about. You'll also notice that Volkswagen is mysteriously absent from their vendor/client list. http://www.hagensinclair.com/clients2.htm

 

[MyAvocation]

That did strike me as odd.

 

[Jack Frost]

probably some kind of phishing attack. Stay away from it. No reputable company send unsolicited emails.

Send it to me as an attachment and I will take a forensic look at it.

 

[MyAvocation]

I can think of one... VW. Phishing does not sound likely... not even spear-phishing. All they're asking for is very basic info. No one is going to buy a targeted email list just to phish for names, phone and model numbers.

 

[TDiSkater]

probably some kind of phishing attack. Stay away from it. No reputable company send unsolicited emails.

Send it to me as an attachment and I will take a forensic look at it.

What? Why are you making such a statement? Market Research is frequently unsolicited. It's called sampling. If we all got an email, that would be more what is being described here in this thread. Just ignore these as most people do if suspicious. Response rates are generally well under 20% for this reason.

 

[Jack Frost]

All they're asking for is very basic info. No one is going to buy a targeted email list just to phish for names, phone and model numbers.

The email is asking for several pieces of personal information. There may also be embedded HTML links in the email that could take you to a malicious domain where something nasty gets downloaded.


Never ever touch an email like this. It has bad news written all over it.

 

[TDiSkater]

Many state licensing agencies and even automakers sell more personal info than is being asked by this company.

 

[MyAvocation]

And the DMV (oops, you covered that), lender, insurance co., etc. I think the smell test here is how private the requested info is. What they're asking for is benign.

 

[leicaman]

I got that email too. No way will I do it. Besides, all I would do is whine how VW mis-treated me and many other B5.5 owners with the balance shaft fiasco. I'd be a waste of their time thinking they'd get some love. They have to give some before they receive some.

 

[Jack Frost]

I think the smell test here is how private the requested info is. What they're asking for is benign.

The smell test of dangerous email is that it is unsolicited email and it is instructing you to do their bidding and provide information. It doesn't matter how benign it is. If you so much as click on a specially crafted email, your machine will belong to them, and worse, you won't even know it.

That email is asking for information about you and your car. The VIN number to a car is what a Social Insurance/Security Number is to you. It is legal and private information. Information that VW should already have. This email is trying to dupe you into with the promise of money and a video camera. It is also inviting you to spread it to your friends. If any of them get infected as a result, there are questions of liability.

 

[oilhammer]

I got the email, too.

 

[scurvy]

The VIN number to a car is what a Social Insurance/Security Number is to you. It is legal and private information.

I don't disagree that this smells, looks, tastes, feels & quacks like a scam, but the VIN is in no way, shape or form 'private' information nor is it comparable to a US citizen's SSN.

If the VIN is 'private' information then why is it plainly visible from the exterior of the car at all times? In fact most jurisdictions REQUIRE it to be visible.