CS6 with Product key number but no serial number

Question

I purchased CS6 from Adobe Support (email address: Help And Support <[email protected]>) and obtained a product key number but no serial number.  How come?  Is my purchase legitimate or did i get scammed?

Answer 1

Hi,
I don't know if anyone is still looking at this thread but I have just dealt with the same Adobe 'Help and Support' with the email [email protected] and found you when I looked to see if there was anything about them online.
My story as short as poss – I had problems running Photoshop Elements 11 after upgrading to Mac OS X Yosemite. Some people told me it could work, others no, so I tried to get some information from Adobe. I looked for 'Help' on Adobe.com and wrote in my enquiry on the recommended 'Chat' option. This morning I got a response and was asked if I was available to web chat about it on Skype. Everything was headed 'Help and Support' and all the Skype messages had a little Adobe logo with 'Help' by them – so I assumed it was all legit and I was actually dealing with Adobe.
They told me PSE 11 was incompatible with Yosemite but said that as an existing customer I could upgrade to PSE 13 for a discount. This seemed a good deal so I said OK. They said I could download it immediately but they'd need remote access to my computer. They started installing PSE 13 and though I started to wonder about how long they needed remote access for, things only began to look really weird when it came to paying, which was to a Moneygram account in India. Also I got a confirmation email from that adobe24x7 address.
By that time though I'd got so far into it I was worried what would happen if I pulled out, and so I went ahead and paid them (equivalent of $78 US). They told me they'll send a full serial number by email within 72 hours. When I said to them 'you're not actually Adobe are you' they said 'We have affiliation with Adobe through Commission Junction'. The named 'Support Manager' on the messages is Amrita Singh.
They finished the installation, and so far the PSE 13 seems to work fine. But like you I have no idea whether it is legitimate software or not. I called Adobe here in the UK and they say they have no connection with adobe24x7, didn't seem to have it on record as a scam address, but are going to get back to me.
I'm normally careful with scammers so this makes me feel really dumb. But – the big question – since they had access to the computer for so long, were they fishing for anything else? If they are real scammers this is a possibility. When I reported it to Adobe they told me to cancel the payment but I said I didn't want to in case adobe24x7 took any reprisals.
So, if CS5 and Yosemite is still reading – did they ever get back to you when they said they'd reimburse you? And have you had any other bad consequences since you were in contact with them, bank accounts, passwords being compromised etc?
Am wondering how much I need to panic! Thanks for any information....
And, a wider issue, shouldn't Adobe show a little more concern that their 'Help pages' are being hacked into so easily?