I do my best to be hypervigilant about scams, but there is so much going on in the world to worry about that sometimes I let my guard down as I reported here.
We recently remodeled our kitchen, and I thought these under-cabinet lights would be just the thing for a bit of extra illumination while working.
I started getting bad vibes from this company called “Aptsociable” when I noticed the actual charge to my credit card included $9.41 for sales tax on an order of $25.37, a 31% tax rate. When I inquired at their customer service address, they responded with this:
According to your email address, we have detected that you did not place an order in our online shop. Could you please checkour order details again? We are afraid that you may reach out to the wrong company and the wrong person.
After providing screen captures of my order confirmation and PayPal receipts, they sent this:
We feel so sorry for your dissatisfaction. The additional charge was made due to system error. We credited that additional charge back to your original account. Please kindly wait for 2-3 business days for the confirmation message from the bank. Yours sincerely,
Customer Service Team
Then I started receiving updates from shipping@24hservice.vip, the same bogus shipping company I mentioned in my earlier post, indicating that my package was working its way through Belgian customs, was being inspected, was in transit, and finally had been shipped to the US.
The package arrived yesterday (direct from China, it had been nowhere near Belgium). It was so small I had no idea what it could have been. Inside, there were four of these (guitar pick for scale)
The only good thing I can say about these little things is that they work, although the light they generate is woefully inadequate. I’m more angry at myself for falling for another shady Chinese merchant than I am at the weasels themselves; by now I have a firm conviction that many Chinese internet marketers, especially the ones who advertise on Facebook, have all the ethics of a starving honey badger. It is also worth noting that Chinese advertisers on Facebook, including those from China, have been linked to widespread fraud and scams, with reports showing Meta earned billions from such ads—up to 19% of its China ad revenue in 2024—despite internal efforts to curb them. Meta tolerated high levels of these fraudulent ads (e.g., scams, porn, illegal gambling) to protect revenue, even after reducing them temporarily in 2024. Zuckerberg is, in my humber opinion, a scumbag.
The package, incidentally, was shipped from “Davve Garzaz, 1825 Paradise Trail, East Stroudsbury [sic], PA” There is a Stroudsburg, but no Stroudsbury. And this is what Google Maps shows for that address:
A rather abandoned-looking structure in the middle of a rural neighborhood.
These vendors pop up with a computer-generated name, make enough sales to generate some profits, vanish into the haze, and reappear later with a new name and the same merchandise. Being in China with only an ephemeral internet presence makes them impossible to find, and very difficult to extract compensation from. The best I could do in this case was to send their customer service address one final Message:
I can only hope someone actually reads it and feels a slight twinge of shame for their duplicity and lack of ethics.
Dr. Frank Crane said, “You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment unless you trust enough.” I’d still rather not live in torment, but I’ve got to get better at not being sucked in by duplicitous Chinese vendors.
This one goes layers deep. Lately my inbox has been swamped with an endless stream of these, (and I’ve written about them before)
But they are still going out, and people are still biting and losing lots and lots of money.
The first red flag is “Congratulation!!” – State Farm would never make such an egregious grammar error.
So if you Get Started, you’ll be taking through an inane survey – doesn’t matter what you click, you’ll be “qualified” – and then told you only need to pay for Shipping and Handling and you’ll collect a fabulous reward.
Well, you’ve just given your credit card number to a bunch of unscrupulous scammers, and it may be used for all sorts of illegitimate purposes. But you’ve also agreed (as outlined in the “terms and conditions,” which nobody reads) to sign up for not one but three recurring services which will be very, very hard to cancel.
Terms and Conditions Agreement By participating in the contest, you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions (“Agreement”). This Agreement details the membership pricing, benefits, and terms associated with the Daily Win Prize website (the “Site”). The Site is operated by the Site Operator (“we,” “our,” or “us”). Membership & Benefits As a thank-you for your participation, you’ll receive complimentary access to exclusive resources within our renowned Epic Read Online, known for its high-quality offerings. As a member, you’ll also enjoy valuable monthly benefits, including significant savings on a variety of products. You can cancel your membership at any time by contacting us, and all recurring charges will be immediately stopped. VISA Card Members: ➽Initial Price: $14.77 Continued Membership: $73.85 billed monthly (every 31 days) By becoming a member, you’ll access exclusive benefits like substantial savings on a range of products. You can cancel your membership at any time by contacting us, stopping all recurring charges. Review the terms carefully before proceeding. If you have questions or need clarification, don’t hesitate to contact us. Mastercard Members: ➽Initial Price: $11.47 Continued Membership: $76.49 billed monthly (every 31 days) As a Mastercard member, you’ll enjoy monthly savings and exclusive benefits. If you wish to discontinue membership, you can do so at any time. If you choose to continue, your recurring membership fee will be charged every 31 days at the specified rate. We recommend reviewing the full terms before proceeding. Feel free to reach out for additional information. Cancellations & Refunds: You have the right to cancel your order at any time. To do so, please contact our customer service at +8554185206, and we will issue a refund within 5-7 business days. You may also email us at support@tradestreamshop.com for assistance. Risk of Loss: All purchases made through the Site are under a shipment contract. Once items are delivered to the carrier, the risk of loss and ownership transfers to you. Permitted Use of the Site You are granted a limited, non-transferable, and non-exclusive license to use the Site for personal purposes only. Unauthorized use, including the following, is prohibited:Resale or Commercial Use: You may not use the Site for commercial purposes or resell any products.Content Misuse: Reproducing, distributing, modifying, or exploiting the Site’s content without written permission is not allowed.Reverse Engineering or Copying: You may not disassemble or reverse-engineer the Site’s features or content.Framing or Unauthorized Embedding: Framing or embedding any proprietary content without permission is strictly prohibited. Intellectual Property: The Site’s content, including text, graphics, logos, and trademarks, is owned by the Site Operator and protected by intellectual property laws. Unauthorized use of the Site’s content is prohibited and may result in legal action. User Content: You are solely responsible for the content you submit to the Site, including text, images, or other materials (“User Content”). By submitting content, you grant the Site Operator a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use your content for marketing, promotion, and other purposes. You agree not to submit any content that violates intellectual property rights or is unlawful. Acceptable Use Policy: When using the Site, you agree not to: Submit Infringing Content: Content that violates the rights of others, including intellectual property rights.Engage in Harmful Behavior: Harassment, abusive language, or activities that disrupt or damage the Site or its users.Upload Malware or Spam: You may not upload viruses or unsolicited advertisements, or collect user data without consent.The Site Operator reserves the right to take action against any violations, including content removal or account suspension. Third-Party Sites: The Site may contain links to third-party websites. The Site Operator is not responsible for the content or practices of these third-party sites. Any use of third-party sites is at your own risk, and their terms and conditions apply. Disclaimer of Warranties The Site is provided “as is” and “as available,” without any warranties, express or implied. We do not guarantee the accuracy, availability, or completeness of any content or services provided on the Site. Limitation of Liability: We are not responsible for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from your use of the Site. Our total liability for any claim related to the Site will not exceed the amount you paid to us in the past 12 months. Claims must be filed within two years of the event. Indemnification: You agree to indemnify and hold the Site Operator harmless from any claims arising out of your use of the Site, your User Content, or any breach of this Agreement. Arbitration: Any disputes between you and the Site Operator will be resolved through binding arbitration. Class actions are not permitted, and all arbitration proceedings will be conducted individually. You must provide notice of your intent to arbitrate 60 days in advance. Termination of Agreement: This Agreement remains effective while you use the Site. The Site Operator reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account for violations of this Agreement. Upon termination, all content associated with your account may be deleted. Copyright Law: We respect intellectual property rights and expect users to do the same. Unauthorized use of content on the Site will result in removal of infringing materials and potential termination of accounts. General Provisions: The Site Operator may update the Site and this Agreement at any time. Continued use signifies your acceptance of the most current terms.Invalid terms will not affect the remainder of the Agreement.This Agreement is governed by the laws of Utah. Fitness App Trial Offer: By using our services, you agree to participate in a 45-day free trial of the Fitness Elite Daily App. If you do not cancel before the trial period ends, ➽ you will be billed at the regular rate of $45.78 every 45 days. To cancel or modify your subscription, please contact +18886971512 or support@fitnesselitedaily.com By accepting these terms, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the Agreement and agree to comply with all conditions stated above.
So if you’re average Joe or average Jane, you’ll see charges on your credit card account for $122.27 every month unless you call to cancel, and those charges will repeat, and repeat, and repeat until you get wise and manage to get past the phone agents who are trained to deflect your cancellation request, and who are very, very good at what they do.
Be safe out there. Don’t click on these solicitations. Don’t give your credit card number out unless you’re on a secure website and know who you are dealing with.
I hate scammers with the fury of a thousand blue-hot suns.
I start by saying I have no understanding whatever of how this works. But here’s what happened with my last online order from a company called “buletboard.”¹
I wish I had bought these directly from Amazon, I could have gotten an instant refund, because these things are:
So poorly designed that there’s hardly an American car that the device will clip to. I barely got it to stay on my Rav4, and then the phone essentially blocks my view of the road. The device does not take phone cases into consideration, the phone barely fits in the clips, and getting the phone into the holder is close to impossible. Shame on me for buying from China once again.
The product was ordered on August 16, and arrived today, September 10th. But the most interesting thing was the emails I kept getting from the company about “The status of your parcel has been updated.”
Belfast,bt170wg,United Kingdom,The shipment has been processed in the parcel center of origin.
The shipment has left the sorting center.
Lincoln,LN4 3SD,United Kingdom,The shipment is in transit in United Kingdom.
The shipment arrived at the customs of United Kingdom.
The shipment is being inspected at the customs of United Kingdom.
The shipment has been shipped to United States.
The shipment arrived at the customs of United States.
The shipment is declared at the customs clearance of United States.
Departed Shipping Partner Facility in the United States.
Transit: New Orleans,70139,United States,The shipment is in transit in the country of United States. (four days after the parcel arrived.)
When the package arrived, it had several labels, one on top of the other. The first one was in Chinese, and included my name, address, the product description, and a bunch of barcodes.
The second label indicated that it was shipped from “Online Seller, 2700 Center DR, Dupont, WA 98327.
This is far, far from the East coast where I would have expected the package to arrive, if it were indeed being shipped from Belfast, and being processed through customs in the UK. It’s also an Amazon fulfillment center.
The second, final label indicated that the sender was:
DEBRAG HABOUSHS 3511 VICTORY BLVD STATEN ISLAND NY 10314
A self-storage office? This makes no sense at all. I mean, I can see the package being sent from Washington on the West Coast if the item were shipped from China, to a distribution point in the East, since we live in Maine. But a self-storage office, and with such a phony-sounding name?
One thing is clear: the chain of emails sent to me by “buletboard” was 100% bogus, since the product obviously came directly from China. Combine that with the poor quality of the product I received and essentially wasted my money on, should be a glaring drudge siren flashing in my eyes to remind me never to buy anything from a Chinese vendor again.
The Old Wolf has sadly spoken.
Footnotes
¹ Most of these Chinese companies must use random name generators for their popup companies which are here today and gone tomorrow, re-appearing somewhere else with a new name after the first one is shut down for shady dealings.
Public service announcement: If you get a text like this, ignore it:
The Post Office will never send out text messages like this. But if you happen to be unaware enough to click the link, you will get something like this:
The bad URL (the legitimate post office site is https://www.usps.com/, and nothing else) and the bad grammar are red flags that this is a scam website.
Again, bad English (to ensure the successful delivery).
“Lump sum: 3¢”… right. Give these scummy drones your credit card number and they’ll use it or sell it and at the very least you’ll have to get that card cancelled and get a new one. At worst, you might be on the hook for fraudulent charges.
Be careful out there, and protect your vulnerable loved ones.
As the internet becomes ever more complex, scammers become ever more creative. I hear far too many stories of even computer-savvy people being taken in by fraudsters, and losing substantial sums of money to these jimakplons.¹
Here’s one that I encountered recently and dove down the rabbit hole to see where it would lead.
This was a Facebook post that appeared on someone’s company page. It looks pretty realistic, as though it actually could have come from Meta. I was intrigued enough to follow that link (Kids, don’t try this at home).
I did this on my mobile device, which is less susceptible to desktop viruses. (Not totally immune, but safer.) This landing page looks OK on the surface, other than that Meta – or any other legitimate company – would not use “linkup . top” as a domain name, seen at the top of the screen.
Not sure? This is what I got when I visited that website from my home computer:
Hmm… that’s a pretty good indicator that you don’t want to be anywhere near this website, because you are likely to get bad software (ransomware, trojans, key-loggers, etc) injected onto your computer. But for the sake of public education, here we go:
Also claims to be from Meta, but again the URL at the top of the screen is “old . ruvix . com,” which Malwarebytes blocks as a Phishing site.
Second screen, where they scammers begin to gather your information, starting with that highly-coveted birthdate, and a phone number.
No matter what the victim enters, they get this screen, ostensibly to obtain their Facebook UserID and Password. No matter what is typed, an error message is given saying that the password was incorrect, and asks for the same information again. It does not matter what is entered – the second try will always succeed.
This is a fairly new one on me. Unless I’m dealing with a Nigerian scammer, I’ve never had a phishing website ask for a picture of my ID. OK, I’m game:
I’m sure the scammers had fun with this one. (I obscured the SS Number just in case it was real – scammers can use the Social Security Numbers of dead people just as easily as living ones for their nefarious purposes.)
At this point, the page actually returns you to a real Meta page, and the scammers trot off happily into the sunset to use the victim’s information for whatever evil they have planned.
Be oh, so careful out there. Practice safe computing, and protect your vulnerable loved ones.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Footnotes
¹ To call someone a “jimakplon” in Benin is a terrible insult to one’s parents. It was defined thusly over at “Friends of Bonou”:
Question: Actually this reminds me: it is also true about an insult that Europeans would find laughably mild and that is really serious in Benin: it is when you are accused of being impolite: You loose face totally if you are insulted like that, apparently: Why? Answer: Ah. It is because “Impolite” is a translation of a Fon word, “jimakplon.” = “Ji” means “born,” “ma” means “not,” and “kplon” means “teach.” So what “jimakplon” really means is “born but not taught.” You were born into this world but didn’t receive any social education. So this is serious because it is an insult against the parents of the person you’re talking to: “Impolite” is a slur on the parents of the person you’re insulting, who didn’t give them a social education, and this is a BIG face loss!
It’s a term I find entirely appropriate to describe these ignorant scammers.
I really, really need to stop ordering things from Facebook-promoted ads. I’ve written previously and copiously about the nature of promoted posts on Facebook, and thought I had learned my lesson; some of these things are pretty enticing, though. Well, shame on me.
But as a word to the wiser-than-I, my latest escapade with a Chinese merchant, one who – not unlike most of them – have all the ethics of a starving honey badger.
This one of many Amazon listings for the item we ordered, although we bought from a company named “blueorxy” – clearly a randomly-generated name. They’re still out there, and I would trust them as far as I could throw a Steinway piano. As soon as we ordered, we started getting notifications from a supposed tracking company; the notifications ended on December 10, and from then nothing was heard.
The package finally appeared on 15 January, with the following label:
The label shows clearly that it was shipped directly from China. The whole series of notifications from “shipping@24hservice.vip” was a bunch of computer-generated nonsense. We paid nearly $40.00 for a cheaply-made, cheaply painted resin piece of garbage that isn’t worth $3.95.
When I tried complaining about the quality and shipping deception, I got this from their auto-bot (no hope of contacting a real person):
～Uh-oh. I sincerely apologize for giving you an unpleasant shopping experience. Please trust your first choice. This product has a high sales volume in our company and has several advantages:
First: The price is high cost-performance. Second: Customer evaluation is good. Third: The buyback rate is high. So it is a better choice to keep it.
Sorry you are not satisfied with our products. Will it be possible to give others as a gift? They are superior in quality and reasonable in price. They have been in top-seller in our company for many years. Under the circumstance that we did not send the wrong goods, we cannot provide you with return and exchange services. If you need to return or exchange, we need to report and verify your problem to the after-sales department, which will take a long time.
Therefore, we recommend that you keep this item.
Thank you for your understanding. Yours sincerely, Customer Service Team
In other words, “We’ve got your money, sucks to be you.”
The level of dishonesty and deception from Chinese vendors is breathtaking in scope. Learn from my mistakes, and stay away from all Facebook promoted posts or anything that looks like it’s sold directly from China. Amazon, too, is a nest of fraud and trickery, thanks to thousands of illegitimate sellers, and Amazon is not doing anywhere near enough to combat the problem.
Today I’ve had 17 emails [Edit: over 100!] with basically the same solicitation appear in my inbox. And they are still coming. Sorted by section, here’s what they look like:
[TL;DR: If you get one of these, don’t respond. They will send you a link to your “personal account page” which contains a trojan, probably ransomware.]
Email Title:
It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Kenneth Jackson D id vvne6 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Paul Green V id sikb2 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Jason Perez Y id kdfl5 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Jason Perez Y id kdfl5 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager James Walker L id aezi2 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Christopher Garcia Q id icte9 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager John Nelson Q id yyaa9 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager George Miller Y id wlvj1 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager James Moore M id apja5 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Paul Perez H id yflf5 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Kevin Davis P id rllh4 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Jason Scott B id vair6 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Charles Martinez C id pffv3 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Kenneth Clark T id yzhe7 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Brian Rodriguez V id kmni9 It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Manager Richard Lee S id klhi8
Good afternoon program client id kfet6114b Greetings program client by number ejzc8095h Hello member id xnzn4252w Greetings partner by number zdar4054i Hello program client by number xoyl4179p Hello user id zhim7333n Hello member id biex4965z Greetings user No. xedp9085j Greetings member id zvme5736c Greetings member No. pezx1857k Greetings program client No. dodp1543s Hello program client id lquy5745m Hello partner by number lluy7602m Good afternoon program client by number jirz1269g Greetings user by number opsu7619t Greetings user No. epxl6557y
Email Body:
Yours Registered Check / Registered Account / Registered Main / Registered Invoice will be closed in 12:42:32 hours [or some other time]. Balance of your invoices 38,469.49 [or some other number]. Please contact us via return email and we will provide you with help for withdrawal savings / receipt savings. If you would like to keep your account active, please contact us in a return email.
Signature:
Support Thomas Johnson W Sincerely, the assistant Michael Carter N Sincerely, the assistant Donald Anderson P Sincerely, the assistant George Miller T Helper Kevin Rodriguez S Sincerely, the assistant Steven Allen X Sincerely, the assistant George Evans J Helper Charles Baker S Helper Ronald Thompson R Assistant Kenneth Williams L Helper Thomas Hall T Assistant Richard Phillips D Support Christopher Martin F Assistant Steven Evans J Support Mark Williams S Support Daniel Clark M
I responded with “Please tell me what this is about?” The return email was:
I tried two different times, and got the same result each time:
Visiting this website would probably have loaded drive-by malware onto my computer, most likely ransomware.
Edit: Today’s crop of spam:
Some of these have included the following crudely-crafted attachment:
Be very cautious about emails like this. Protect your loved ones by educating them about safe computing practices. Make sure all your computers have robust anti-virus progams on them; the number of scumbags out there is increasing daily.
This is a broad generalization, but based on results and statistics, it’s not an unfair statement. An overwhelming preponderance of Facebook advertising leads to scammy sites that promise one thing and deliver another, or which take your money and deliver nothing at all. I’ve written about this before, but another one crossed my screen today.
Interestingly enough, the link (sent to me by my wife) leads to the general website which has all sorts of “amazing deals” but which makes no mention of the product above.
Amazon has the same item… for almost a thousand dollars.
And this “auntpump” website is offering you two of them for $30.00? You can bet this website has been set up by unscrupulous scumbags with all the ethics of a starving honey badger. I’d bet a bowl of wonton soup it’s being operated from China.
Be very, very careful with anything you see advertised on Facebook. Never click on Facebook ads directly. Do a web search and locate the company directly, and make some inquiries before sending money to any firm that advertises there, because Meta will happily take advertising dollars from anyone with two coppers to rub together without the slightest effort to verify their legitimacy.
“Research has recently discovered an incredibly effective way to shrink your prostate,” trumpets the landing page. “We don’t know how long this video will be up, the medical industry sure does not like it… watch it now while you can.”
Well, just because I am concerned about prostate issues, I did watch it. But now I want that hour of my life back. The first thing that annoyed me is that there’s no progress bar, so you can’t skip to the money shot at the end. You have to watch the. whole. thing.
So I did. And here’s this guy dressed in a doctor’s coat, spewing the awfullest marketing drivel I have ever heard, mostly involving scare tactics about what could happen if your enlarged prostate is not treated, and how ineffective / painful / inconvenient / expensive traditional treatments are.
For years, the good doctor (I looked him up, and find absolutely no hits on Google for his name) “wrecked his brain” [sic] regarding a better solution, and after 40 minutes or so of frightening you into thinking you’re going to die, finally introduces his own “Prostate well-being formulation” which is affordable and effective.
The remainder of the video discusses all the ingredients at length and makes significant claims for all of them. (Yes, the official website includes the standard “Nutritional Miranda” popularized by Orrin Hatch, to wit:
“Statements made by Mediamap Limited, PhytoThriveLabs and Fluxactive Complete have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA does not evaluate or test herbs. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease.”
but it’s well-hidden in a separate disclaimer page. And, this product is nothing more than a compendium of herbs (a formula “based on decades of science”), not one of which has any tested and proven effect on prostate health.
But hey, we’ve got over 60,000 customers, so it’s got to be good, right? Right?
Some of the claims made during the course of this video imply:
Stop prostate cell growth
Reduce insulin levels
Cayenne, Vitamin E
Rare and powerful anti-inflammatory effects
Bulletproof your prostate
Rejuvenate your DNA, reduce arthritis
Enhance blood flow
Increase ability to pee
Increase sexual function – transform you into a MAN as well
Increase libido and quality of erections.
Nerve tonic
Add years if not decades to your life expectancy
Regain your dignity (Today is your last chance!)
Feel a surge of energy you haven’t felt in decades
Repair inflammation and cellular damage over time
Achieve the prostate of a 20-year-old
Then comes the financial pitch. “I don’t care about money, says the good doctor. “I just want to help people.” Customers have told me they would pay thousands of dollars for a single bottle. 🐂 💩
“For a limited time (scarcity) this is the largest discount I’ve ever offered. Buy the multiple-bottle discount packages. One-time offer! Buy the multi-pack today to avoid future disappointments and price increases. Order at least three bottles! But if you don’t want [horrible symptoms], take advantage of our 6 bottle package! Make the right investment in your health. Act NOW while supplies last, because we may discontinue production any day now if we can’t make this great formulation. (scarcity) If you don’t, you’ll be hooked for life and pay large money for treatment, including that $30,000 surgery. The longer you wait, the greater your risk of complications like Urinary Tract Infections, Testicular Tumors, and a whole host of others. Time is running out! Buy this Product. Make the Right Decision! I’m not trying to scare you, these are real risks of doing nothing.
The video claims to offer a 60-day risk free money-back guarantee, even if you return empty bottles. But! The official return policy (also buried in a totally non-obvious link) says:
“All items purchased online can be returned within 60 days after they have been received by you. We accept returns of all unopened items within 60 days of receiving them for a full refund minus any shipping fees.”
So I would suggest you might have a hard time returning empty bottles for a refund, even if the product did nothing for you.
But wait, there’s more!
Act right away and complete order in the next 5 minutes, get the Fast action Upgrade Kit (questionable digital documents that cost them nothing)
Biohacking secrets ($97.00) – hack your mind and body with modern techniques
Supercharge your body ($97.00) – Charge your immune system, best exercises, foods to adopt
Includes 20 helpful videos
1-day detox miracle guide – ($67.00) – only need to use it once a month. Flush out the toxins. Designed to flush out all heavy metals and other toxins. ¹
10 ways to turbocharge your Testosterone ($67.00)
More disclaimers:
Results will vary. But these ingredients will have same effects on everyone. Guaranteed. This remedy will work for you. Absolutely. But you have the 60-day money-back guarantee. “The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. The Company is not making any warranty about the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on that information is strictly at your own risk. The Company disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on those materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.”
In other words, “Let the buyer beware.”
So what’s in this miracle formulation?
Ginseng
Vitamin E
Ginko Biloba
Oat Straw
Vitamin B3
Hawthorn
Muira Puama
Epimedium Saggitatum
Tribulus
Catuaba
Damiana
All of these ingredients are claimed in various places to have all sorts of health benefits. None, if any, have been rigorously scientifically proven with double-blind, randomized, placebo-based trials. But the herbal supplement global market is a $30 billion affair, and far too many producers want a slice of that pie regardless of how effective their products are, and as long as they include the “nutritional Miranda,” the FDA can’t touch them.
It’s hard for the average consumer to get accurate information about any given product. Go to google and type in “Fluxactive Complete scam or legit” and you’ll get pages and pages of things like this… all placed by affiliate marketers. The bottom line of these pages is “Buy this product now so that I can get a commission on the sale.” And these are the top results, thanks to black-hat SEO techniques which have essentially ruined searches on the internet.
Even YouTube is awash with deceptive videos:
And there are literally pages of these, each posted by affiliate marketers. Each one of these claims to show that FluxActive Complete is a scam, but in the end they recommend that you purchase the product through their affiliate link, hoping to make a commission on the sale.
From a product analysis website in India:
“There’s a lot of attention around Fluxactive, so is it a fraud or a real health supplement? At this point, it’s uncertain. What is known is that the product has not yet been subjected to scientific testing, and some users have reported negative consequences after using it, such as a rash and nausea. While Fluxactive Complete may be beneficial to some people, it is not a full health care and should be treated with caution.”
The sad part of this whole deal is that there are virtually thousands of herbal nostrums, placebos, and nocebos² being marketed in this way. Until the nutritional market can be appropriately regulated, which means repealing Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, Nutritional supplements need to be treated like drugs, not food. Sadly, the lobbying effort to preserve this status is massive, given the quantities of money to be made on vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other supplements.
The sad part of this whole deal is that there are virtually thousands of herbal nostrums, placebos, and nocebos² being marketed in this way. Until the nutritional market can be appropriately regulated, which means repealing Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, Nutritional supplements need to be treated like drugs, not food. Sadly, the lobbying effort to preserve this status is massive, given the quantities of money to be made on vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other supplements.
The bottom line: Be careful out there, and make good choices with your health. Don’t waste money on compounds that are advertised in this manner. Consult your doctor. If this were really an effective way of treating enlarged prostates, the medical machine would be all over it.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Footnotes
¹ Heavy metal poisoning is treated with chelating agents such as:
Dimercaprol.
Dimercaptosuccinic acid (succimer).
Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).
Penicillamine.
.Heavy metal poisoning cannot be treated with herbs, minerals, or other “natural” remedies, despite many such claims.
² A nocebo is a treatment that has negative effects upon the patient rather than the desired benefit.
Got this text message early in May (and I’ve had a couple of others since… these things seem to go in waves as scammers share ideas around.
Just look at the URL that you’re supposed to use to log in: “Erwanbikes”? It’s a real website in India, supposedly for renting bicycles. Either someone has embedded malicious code in a subdirectory of their website without their knowledge, or they are actively involved in the scam. There’s no way of knowing.
Either way, if a communication came from PayPal, the address to go to would be something at
PayPal.com
and not some random website. Be careful if you get messages like this and never click on the link unless you know or can tell where it has taken you.
If you’re curious, here’s where the rabbit hole goes:
Note the bogus (i.e. not PayPal) URL. Now they want your information.
Never provide information like this to an unknown entity. SS Number? Mother’s Maiden Name? Run away fast!
If someone wants your credit card information and you don’t know who they are, you’re being scammed.
Once you’ve given the bad guys access to your financial information and your credit card number, you are redirected to the legitimate PayPal website. Then watch your money disappear. Please don’t be taken in by criminal activity of this nature, and watch over your vulnerable loved ones.
Playing in the World Game 