I smell something fishy

Forever the sceptic,  that's moi!  What has set off the "fishy" smell, as far as  I am concerned, is the exact number of free coffees that are "paid forward".   Is someone trying out a social experiment or is this a Tim Hortons' advertisement gimmick although their spokeswoman denies it to be so?

Jeff Mackey of CanadianPress  via Yahoo:
....Wave of anonymous coffee benefactors spreads to more Tim Hortons locations.  Coffee was flowing free for hundreds of Canadians at three Tim Hortons locations Thursday as the act of one Good Samaritan appeared to precipitate a wave of copycat java generosity.

Since Monday at least five cases of coffee philanthropy have been reported: one each in Red Deer, Alta., Calgary and Ottawa, and two in Edmonton.

Tim Hortons spokeswoman Michelle Robichaud said the company was "humbled by the generosity" that has been taken place across the country.
"Clearly this is someone who has a very pure heart and just wishes to put smiles on some people's faces and spread some good cheer," said Robichaud.
As news spread on social media, some skeptics speculated that the donations were part of an elaborate publicity stunt by the coffee chain.

But Robichaud said that's not the case.
"As brilliant as this is I can assure you that Tim Hortons has nothing to do with the Good Samaritans that have been purchasing coffees across the country," she said.
The first donation happened on Monday, when a young man in his mid-to-late 20s walked into Tim Hortons in downtown Edmonton and ordered a large double-double and a Boston cream doughnut.
And large coffees for the next 500 customers.

The man paid the $859 bill with his debit card and quickly left.

"It is not uncommon for people to pay it forward at our restaurants. That is something that happens every day," said Robichaud. "But something of this magnitude is not anything we've seen before."

Customers of a Tim Hortons in Calgary were the recipients of free coffee on Wednesday as another java benefactor told a cashier they would buy the next 500 cups of joe.

On Thursday morning a soon-to-retire city bus supervisor named Bob purchased morning coffee for 500 at a Tim Hortons in Ottawa, Robichaud said.

Later the gesture was mirrored again at a Tim Hortons location in Red Deer, and a third time hours later at a Tim Hortons kiosk in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton...........