Winding down for the weekend I thought I’d check the weather on Weather.com and while there I noticed a local ad ‘Acai Berry EXPOSED (Van Buren Twp Report)‘. I clicked the link and at first glance Channel5healthNews.net looked like an actual news site. These scammers went out of their way to deceive consumers.
Check the site out Channel5healthNews.net, it’s loaded with repeated affiliate links. Hell, even the weather links [Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar] are disguised affiliate links. I’d be very surprised if that wasn’t in violation of someone’s TOS. Unbelievable!
Speaking of violations, the site appears to be in blatant violation of the FTC’s Guides Governing Endorsements and Testimonials. They have plenty of fine print at the bottom of the page but I see no acknowledgment of affiliate links. I’m not an attorney but it looks pretty plain to me.
I found these sites, all identical or very similar:
- http://channel5healthnews.com/
- http://www.channel5healthnews.net/
- http://www.news6report.org/
- http://healthybegins.com/acaiberrydiet/
- http://www.consumerbuzzweekly.com/
- http://www.healthnews6.tv/
- http://consumershealthtips.com/
- http://www.healthybegins.com/acaiberrydiet/
What’s the big deal? Here’s what unsuspecting buyer’s are in store for:
- Acai Berry Plus – You must cancel within 10 DAYS to avoid a membership fee of $169.95 and charges of $22.95 per month.
- Vita Cleanse – Your free bottle will actually cost you $69.95 plus $4.95 s&h immediately and then a month later you pay another $74.90! Where’s your free bottle? After you have dropped almost $150, IF you qualify for their Mail-In Rebate Program you can receive a rebate of $69.95. That’s your FREE bottle of Vita Cleanse.
Your thoughts? Should these people be shut down? Is the whole Acai Berry weight loss fad a scam? Know of any other low life Acai Berry scams taking advantage of the unsuspecting consumers with deceptive tactics?