Real Beta Invite - or phishing scam?

[ShotGal]

I got this email today with a very legitimate looking NDA.    REAL or FAKE????

Hello WD® Community Member,

We would like to invite you to join the WD private Beta programs.

WD’s Mission

WD’s mission is to ensure the products released to the public meet a high level of quality, functionality and usability. We do our best in laboratory conditions to identify quality issues; however, our “expected use case scenarios” do not always identify what the public prefers or what is considered “not user friendly.” Our experience has shown us the best way to highlight these hidden quality issues is to conduct Beta tests. 

WD systemically conducts Beta tests on various products. You were selected to be part of our Beta programs with the expectation that you will provide feedback. You may be invited again to participate in other programs depending on the quality and quantity of your feedback. We encourage you to take advantage of our upcoming Betas and get a chance to preview our exciting products. We invite you to share any of your constructive criticism and your ideas with as much detail you can provide.  

Ultimately, we would like you to enjoy your WD product. We look forward to your input and hope that you will enjoy this experience and others in the future.

What you need to do to join

Please print the attached file:  ELA_LastName_FirstName.pdf

1. Sign your name and print legibly the remaining information on the form, including the date.
2. Scan the entire document and rename the file with your last name and first name. For example:  ELA_Smith_John.pdf
3. Reply directly to this email (XXXXXXXXX redacted - @wdc.com) with the completed form attached. 

Once you have been added to our database, you will receive an auto-generated email with your assigned user name, a temporary password, and a link to the internet WesternDigital Issue Tracking Report (iWDITR) system.

User Profile: - Edit Profile

Please update your profile with accurate contact info, preferences and test environment.   

Opportunities for participating in future WD Beta programs will depend on how thorough you are in filling out your information.  Please make sure you fill out the WD products section in your profile; this will enable us to invite you to ongoing beta programs for those products, such as bug fixes and new features.

[curtswanson]

I just got one of these too. I'm curious about its authenticity as well.

[martinboy]

I got one too.

[TonyPh12345]

Why do you suspect it's fake if it's from a WDC address, and the reply-to is a WDC-address?

[Joe_S]

It's probably legit I just checked my email and there is one in there.

Joe

[MikeF]

An independant statement from WD may help with concerns. As I undestand it Beta test material needs to be returned to WD. Now if you undertake the testing seriously then a restricted right to retain the material for personal use would be an incentive.

[Olpol]

I also got one and am curious as to whether there will be official confirmation the email was real and not a phishing scam.

[ShotGal]

1.  FWIW, there are TWO people specifically named in this email and attachment that are allegedly associated with the program.  I did some searching for those names in association with WD - and came up blank - though I did find some references to the program on an extranet site.

2.   I've done product development and beta for a number of companies.  The "random" shotgun selection process for this seems odd - and even stranger that a seemingly large number of other forum users have also been getting this.  Let me ask - are the others all (also) Mac/iOS users perhaps?

3.  The form for entry into the program asks for - Signature, Name, Address, Employer, Email and Date.

I submitted it to "test it"  -  with an "alternate"  signature  -  as all of this other information is easily available.... they already had the email.

I scanned the attachment for viruses/trojans etc. and it came up clean.

Links were also clean and the reply address was not a redirect and\ came back to an @WDC.com email address.

Since responding - I have never received an "auto-response" as  of yet, but remain optimistic.  It appears legit.

[curtswanson]

Tony, I don't necessarily think it is a scam but... email addresses can be manipulated and they are asking us to download and open an attachment. That is dangerous. Confirmation is required before proceeding.

[curtswanson]

ShotGal - I am not a Mac/iOS user.