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Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:41 am  |
If you google just about any makeup or skincare product, the first hit is a "sponsored hit", meaning an ad, disguised as a blog by a consumer. The alleged "consumer," supposedly called "Heather" warns us that she tried X, the product you googled, and found it was nothing more than a so-so moisturizer. Then she tried Y, the advertised product, and it was a miracle!
Frankly, this scam is pretty clumsy, because the text is identical no matter what product you search for. And "Heather" is pretty clueless--for example, she slammed Lumiere Cosmetics as just a so-so moisturizer. Problem is, Lumiere is a mineral makeup company. They don't make moisturizers or any skincare, for that matter. Of course, "Heather" couldn't figure that out...
I didn't put the name of the scam product here because I didn't want casual readers to say, "Oh good! I will try it!"  But if you've googled a product and "Heather" comes up with a supposed review, well, you've been warned... |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:06 pm |
Good post flitcraft!
Also, the "Automatic Delivery" function can be a problem. Once the company has your CC info they can continue to send you their products, and they make it difficult for you to stop payment. Many of the InfoMercials rope ppl into this. |
_________________
✪ My go-to products: MyFawnie.BigCartel.com ✪ |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:50 pm |
| My daughter ordered a haha free haha trial off of a stop smoking program. Problem was the fine print was so fine she didnt read they would bill 2 installments haha which turned out to be 99 bucks each haha after like 7 days. Took longer than that for it to arrive. Turned out to be junk. haha free wasnt free haha |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:39 pm |
| Flitcraft I have noticed this happening a lot when I've investigated several products the most recent being supplements. |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:02 pm |
| Flitcraft, thanks for posting this. I found Heather's Blog just last night. I actually thought about giving the free samples a try, but thought it was rather fishy that if she was a consumer, why would there be a link to her blog on another web site? If I had a blog (I don't really know how to create one or exactly what it is supposed to do for you), I would not post a link on someone else's web site. So I was wondering myself if it was rather an ad to try to get someone to buy her products, or someone else's products she promotes. |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:03 pm |
| fawnie wrote: |
Good post flitcraft!
Also, the "Automatic Delivery" function can be a problem. Once the company has your CC info they can continue to send you their products, and they make it difficult for you to stop payment. Many of the InfoMercials rope ppl into this. |
I suggest that if you have a prepaid visa card, you can use that so they do not have your * spam * card number. |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:10 pm |
Thank for sharing this information!
Be care to place any order! |
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beauty~ |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:34 pm |
| The "Heather" blog type stuff should be illegal. |
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jefftiew
New Member
 
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 6
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:09 pm |
Thank for sharing this information!  |
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Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:15 pm |
Sis, you are so right this should be illegal. It's fraud, really--representing something as being a consumer opinion which is really only a concocted advertisement.
If I were Attorney General, this would be on my list of no-nos. Well, maybe after going after the banks for exorbitant credit card fees!  |
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Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:56 am |
| Good to know, flitcraft! Thanks! |
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Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:37 pm |
I have run into that site more times than I can count. I was trying to find a site where I could read real consumers' opinions on products, and I kept getting those same ads instead of genuine reviews.
Thank goodness I found this site, and now I never have to Google for reviews anymore! |
_________________
52, fair, brown hair, green eyes. Oily t-zone, large pores |
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Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:31 pm |
| I found another ad link today that promised an elimination of wrinkles, and the lady claimed she used a combination of two products on her ad. The name was not Heather. I don't remember the name, and did not click on the link as I was afraid to, thinking it might even have a virus or some cookie tracker. So be careful out there. Now that I know these things are just scams, I won't click on the link ever again. |
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Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:29 pm |
| How many people do you suppose are being duped by these ads? It is disgusting and they should booted off. |
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Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:05 pm |
| sister sweets wrote: |
| How many people do you suppose are being duped by these ads? It is disgusting and they should booted off. |
Unfortunately, that won't happen anytime soon, sigh. It's not's illegal, and the internet is very hard to police.
There is another one of these scams running that focuses on "Nicholle's" weight loss secrets to lose stomach fat. It actually populates the internet ad with your city, and acts like she is someone locally...they then try and get you to order 2 kinds of supplements or something.
The sad part is that they run these ads because they ARE successful....many people are desperate enough to actually buy the stuff! |
_________________
No longer answering PM's due to numerous weird messages. |
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Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:31 pm |
| bethany wrote: |
| There is another one of these scams running that focuses on "Nicholle's" weight loss secrets to lose stomach fat. It actually populates the internet ad with your city, and acts like she is someone locally...they then try and get you to order 2 kinds of supplements or something. |
I saw a similar ad (or maybe the same one) tonight. It was a picture of a woman with a huge stomach on the before picture, and then her stomach shrank significantly on the after picture. I did not click on the link even though it promised to show me this woman's secret, and it said this was as seen on some TV shows. I just noticed the words "ads by google" under the ad, so it is now clear that it's just an ad, and not someone's real life story. It must be very expensive to run these ads, and a normal person cannot afford to buy ads like that just to share her life story. |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:45 am |
| I've never heard about this until now... thanks for the heads up! |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:50 am |
| About a year ago I read an article about the Federal Trade Commission (the govt agency responsible for policing deceptive advertising and trade practices) getting swamped with formal complaints about on-line companies. The fact is, consumer protection in cyberspace is just about non-existent because a lot of businesses only exist on a computer. It's a world of "Buyer Beware" when you buy a product or fork over your CC info to an unknown entity. |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:22 am |
Maybe some good news on this front, at least in the US: the Federal Trade Commission in the past administration did not have a high priority for consumer watchdog policies, but apparently the current administration is planning a more aggressive approach to fraudulent marketing ploys.
For now, though, it is up to consumers to be smart and careful about how much to trust information that we get online.
I have to say, I am reluctant now to name offending companies and products here on the EDS forum for fear that some forumites will simply see the name and think "Hey, I ought to try that!!" Particularly those for whom English is not their first language may not be able to tell the difference between a warning post and a recommendation post... |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:06 am |
| Flit - I hope you're right about better consumer protection for on-line services and goods and I hope the FTC and FCC are working on a way to do this. It's a huge task because the Internet is like the old wild west, an open frontier with few rules. Laws that apply in the U.S. don't apply to foreign companies and they can make themselves look like an American company. |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:14 am |
Jax, your analogy to the Wild West is spot on! In theory, US law does have jurisdiction over foreign companies doing business in the US--for example, selling products to US consumers. The problem is getting to either execute on a judgment against a foreign company or getting injuctive relief enforced. There are international compacts on this, but as long as the offender can vanish and reappear under another guise, it's not practical to squash them.
There's been talk about derivative liability in these cases, which has certainly made ebay a lot more proactive in policing, but that's probably not a real solution. |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 4:21 pm |
| ruk1 wrote: |
| fawnie wrote: |
Good post flitcraft!
Also, the "Automatic Delivery" function can be a problem. Once the company has your CC info they can continue to send you their products, and they make it difficult for you to stop payment. Many of the InfoMercials rope ppl into this. |
I suggest that if you have a prepaid visa card, you can use that so they do not have your * spam * card number. |
exactly. Or paypal plug-in. Altho I heard PayPal had their database compromised. |
_________________
✪ My go-to products: MyFawnie.BigCartel.com ✪ |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:02 pm |
| fawnie wrote: |
exactly. Or paypal plug-in. Altho I heard PayPal had their database compromised. |
I had an unauthorized charge to my bank account (via a one time Paypal Visa I ended up not using) as a result of the Paypal plug-in, and Paypal said that perhaps I needed to figure out what I bought from them  and would not refund my money.
I promptly uninstalled the system and refuse to EVER use it again. |
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No longer answering PM's due to numerous weird messages. |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:20 pm |
| Fawnie, I have not heard of a paypal plug-in although I do have a small paypal account. I also have not heard about their database being compromised. Was that communicated to paypal members? If so, I did not get the email. It might have gone to my spam folder. |
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Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:45 pm |
| i've heard so many bad stories with paypal i refuse to use it. everyone complains about paypal because it sucks |
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20s with combination skin. |
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