A Memory Boosting Pill? That News Story Is a Scam.
One of your favorite news sites has an exciting report about a new supplement that’s guaranteed to boost brain power, and improve memory and concentration—a kind of “Viagra for the brain.” There’s even an impressive endorsement by Steven Hawking—or maybe one by Anderson Cooper. Just enter your credit card information and you’ll never forget a name again, right?
Wrong!
Don’t Fall for the Fake News About Memory Pills
According to Andrew Johnson, a consumer education specialist at the Federal Trade Commission, scammers are building fake websites that look like your trusted news sites to fool you into buying phony cures—a miraculous memory pill that’s at the cutting edge of medicine.
The “news” stories on these sites really are fake news—they use so-called quotes from trustworthy figures like news personalities, and scientific or medical experts. They make wild claims about the pills’ effectiveness backed by nonexistent studies or no evidence at all. And they provide links so that you can buy the pills yourself.
The spoofed news sites link you to the sales page for the product—which no legitimate news site would ever do. Once you’re on that page, it’s tempting and easy to place an order with a credit or debit card.
You could lose more than just your money. Besides stealing your credit or debit card information and possibly your identity, the people selling these fake “cures” could misrepresent the ingredients they contain and use ones that may be harmful to you.
There is no such thing as a miraculous memory supplement. Before you hit Submit on any online transaction involving a miracle cure (whether it’s for memory loss, weight gain, sleep or any other issue) run it by your doctor—or at least Google the name. It’s likely to come up on one of the sites that tracks scams, such as Snopes.com. And if glowing reviews come up, that’s another reason not to trust it.
How to Spot a Fake Website
You might receive a link to one of these fake news sites in any number of ways:
In an email, even from someone you know
Via social media a networking platform like Facebook, in a chat session, in public comments on a forum, through a Skype message, or even in a blog post. And you could see a link to one of these fake news stories on a legitimate website that runs ads.
On the internet, prevention is the best medicine. This site has some good tips for spotting phony or spoofed websites (hint, a typo when you type in a website address can lead to a spoofed site, so always look for https:// – the “S” means it’s secure).
Google searches alone may not yield helpful information, since scamsters also load up fake positive stories on other fake websites to confuse or discourage investigation.
If You’ve Already Paid a Scammer
There’s still hope:
- Call the card company immediately
- Alert them to the fraudulent charge right away
- Ask if you are still eligible to get your money back
- Ask if you should get a new card with a new number to prevent more fraudulent charges
- Report the scam to the FTC
Have you ever been scammed online? Share your experience in the comments below and help someone else avoid the next scam!
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Comments
I have paid for and received the jars of Mind Boost. The package they came in did not provide a return address. I am willing to try the product for a week or even a month but assume there will be no benefit because of what i have read. Please tell me how to return the product and get my money back – i cannot afford to waste the $500 for the extended trial.
Hello Camila. There are various Mind Boost products online. If you would like additional support in finding the phone number to the customer service line of that company, please call the Senior Planet Hotline. An agent can support you in finding the information you need to get your funds back. The number to the Senior Planet Hotline is 888-713-3495.
Still happening. Television ads for NeuroQ (the main ingredient is phosphatidylserine) making credible claims about memory enhancement. Web search pulls up countless pages claiming to “debunk the scam,” but really leading you to affiliate marketing sales pages. Deceptive and underhanded in the extreme. Do not be taken in by any claims about any supplements, especially those being marketed on the internet by shady websites or on television by “world renowned neurologists” and other such nonsense.
I was told to buy many memory Rx all fraud! Do not buy anything! I can remember my entire life!! Ignore scam!!!!
They were doing this awhile back with another supplement called Accelleral. I almost bought it before I read this article that broke down the whole thing as a scam.
Not sure if I’m allowed to post a link here, but here it is in case you’re interested: https://www.supplementcritique.com/accelleral-review/
Great article; I work in computer / Internet [State of Arizona WIC office] and almost fell for one of these. I found this page while using GOOGLE to find more about brain pills used by Bill Gates FAKE WEBSITE and you were absolutely correct the ‘link’ took me directly to a page to buy.
Keep putting out good information; I’ll be adding your home page to my favorites!
I was scammed Big Time trying to buy one bottle of CBD Oil and they charged my credit card $120.00 for five bottles and I only wanted one. Well they were like ghost’s in the Night!! could not find ANY INFO so I called my CC and filed a claim. When the product arrived I just left it alone waiting for my CC to give me feedback but I got pissed, opened the box and opened one of the bottles. To my dismay there was NO OIL in the bottle, it was all crystallized!!! Finally my CC company reimbursed me.