We tried to come up with a clever, funny headline for this post – but we were too depressed to be funny. We have reported for so long about acai berry scams that it takes a lot to surprise us – but this latest acai scam surprised us! We have seen the fake acai review sites, been through the fake diet blog sites and of course all the free trial scams. But creating not one – but at least two fake news networks – that is incredibly disgusting.
Health News 7 – Bringing You The Best in Fake News
We recently got an email that linked to a “new report on the Acai Berry”. The news network is Health News 7 and here is a screen shot on their “story” -
Click The Image To See The Enlarged View
You really need to click the above image to see it full size. Here are a couple of things we want to point out -
- Site is News7Health.Com and clearly looks like a real news site.
- The reporter is shown in the photo and identified as “Health and Diet writer, Julia Miller”
- The story goes on about how the reporter was skeptical, but some free trial Acai Berry helped her lose 25 pounds in 4 weeks.
This looks like a very impressive piece. We have a news reporter who tried Acai and saw amazing weight loss. There is just one little problem – IT IS ALL MADE UP!
Exposing News7Health.Com for the Scam It Is
The site looked strange to us and we had never heard of News 7 Health – so we decided to read more news stories from the site. We started clicking on the links on the top of the page – things like US, World, Business, Politics, etc – they are all dead links! This is a completely made up news site that uses affiliate links to try to trick people into buying a “free trial acai product” that will actually cost you $90 a month!
Don’t Be Disgusted Yet – It Only Gets Worse
I hope you have more disgust and outrage inside you – because it only gets worse! We did a little digging on the internet and we found this site -
Click Above Image to See Full Size
Again, click the above image to get the full disgusting view. Wow, looks like there is another “news network” called Health News 6. Guess what, they also did a story where their reporter took Acai and lost tons of weight. Let’s get a close up of these competing Health Reporters from New 6 Health and News 7 Health -
Julia Miller
Julia Miller ???
Wow – not only did Julia Miller lose weight by taking Acai – she also completely changed her appearance! Acai really is Amazing!
Stock Photos Allow Anyone To Create Their Own News Network!
These scammers are so lazy that they don’t even make an effort to cover their tracks anymore. Why bother changing the fake reporters name – just throw in a different stock photo. If one fake news site makes you money, then 10 fake news sites will make you more money.
The Evolution of Acai Scam – Making the Jump From Deception to Flat Out Fabrication
Unfortunately, Acai scams are not new – we have been exposing them for over 2 years. What is so disturbing with this one is the jump from deception to fabrication. The “old” acai scam was to mislead people into thinking they were getting a free trial of Acai. Buried at the bottom of the Terms of Service, in font too small to read, was the fact that you will be autobilled $90 every month. This is completely deceptive, but the scammers try to walk the line claiming everything is there if people just read the Terms of Service.
This new scam does not walk any lines – it flat out lies and fabricates. Julia Miller is not a health reporter, in fact she is not even real! She is whatever stock photo they can find for their site. The News 7 Health or News 6 Health sites – also not real. Just fake facades for someone selling Acai. Of course the comments, testimonials and before and after pictures – all made up. I guess the scammers were not stealing enough money by deceiving, so they had to evolve into full out fabrication mode.
FTC – You Need to Take Action – NOW!
We uncovered this scam in about 5 minutes. To our fine hard working friends at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – how about you spend a few hours building a case against these guys? These scams are costing Americans millions of dollars a year. Could there be more deceptive advertising than this?
Drop us a comment, let us know what you think. Are you as outraged as us?
View The Scam In Action With This Video
Click Here to Watch A Screen Capture Video Exposing These Acai Scam Health Sites.
Help Us Get The Word Out on This Acai Scam
The more people who know the truth about Health News 6 and Julia Miller – the less people who will fall victim to the scam. Let’s get the word out and let everyone know about this. Please link to this article, put it on your FaceBook page, Tweet about it – do whatever you can to make sure people know that this is scam. We really appreciate your help!
Update on Julia Miller Scams and The Quest for Real Acai (3/31/10)
Since we published this article on 3/12 we have had an incredible response. Thank you to everyone who has linked to this article, together we have helped thousands of people find out about the Julia Miller scam before they wasted their money. There is still more work to be done, we have seen the scammers start to change Julia Miller’s name – but we will keep after them.
As our regular readers know, we try to keep this blog as non-commercial as possible. However, we have had so many readers ask us if there are any real Acai supplements available, we felt it would be wrong not the mention the brand of Acai we love and trust. Perfect Acai is a 100% Pure Organic Acai supplement that involves no free trials, memberships or other games. It is simply real acai, available for purchase without any tricks or scams.
Update on Even More Disgusting Acai Berry Scam (4/29/10)
Just when you think these Acai scammers can not get any lower… they do! Take a look at our post on the Denise Randall US Medical Journal Acai Scam – it is so bad you really need to see it to believe it!
Update The Fake News Acai Scams Keep on Going (12/3/10)
Thank you for all the incredible comments! We have had hundreds of comments on this post and appreciate everybody spreading the word so we can stop people for falling for these scams. Over the last few months, we have seen the scammers use a number of different fake news sites and fake health reporters – here is a partial list:
Other Fake Health Reporters and News Sites:
- News 6 Reports and Jane Clark Health Reporter
- Sharon Smith at Weekly Consumer Digest (WCD)
- Cindy Anderson USHealthNews or USA Health News
- Health and Diet writer, Alice Carlson of C1 Health News
- Helen Cohen, Weekly Health News and WeeklyHealth News Health and Diet Reporter
- Julie Ayers Channel 5 Health News
- News 10 Reporter
Go ahead and read the fine print at the bottom of those sites, you will see the stories are fictional, they are not affiliated with any news network and the “free trial” will cost you hundreds of dollars a month!
If you have seen other names used for this Acai scam, please let us know by leaving a comment. The more we can let people know about all these fake health news reporters, the better the chances of stopping innocent people from falling for these scams.
Additional Resources:
Oprah and Illinois Attorney General File Suit Against Acai Scam Companies
Oprah Writes, then Throws Book At Acai Scammers
How I Lost $90 in 30 Days Using the Acai Berry
What Did Oprah and Dr Oz Really Say About Acai
Acai Berry Scams – How to Avoid Them
Acai Berry Maxx named Texas Lawsuit
Free Black Belt Course in Spotting Acai Berry Scams
How Do You Stop An Acai Berry Scammer From Scamming?
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This is the latest scam:BEWARE OF THIS POSTING
Julie Ayers investigates new shopping trends on the internet
Surplus clearance auction websites are a new phenomenon that is quickly spreading through North America and Europe (like you have probably already seen). They are all over the internet in blogs and success stories of people who have apparently bought expensive items at a fraction of what they normally cost. However, we were very skeptical of whether or not the deals on these surplus clearance auction sites were real, so we decided to put them to the test. What better way to find the truth than to conduct our own study?
I wanted to buy a new HDTV, so I was put in charge of the test.
First, I did a ton of research on the subject to find out which penny auction site was the most trustworthy and ultimately would be best suited for my test. After hours and hours of research I came to the conclusion that BidRack was best because of its wide variety of products and BBB rating. The way these auction sites supposedly work is that you buy bids to bid against other people in online auctions. If you win, you get to purchase the item at a greatly reduced price. BidRack had a new promotion, for a limited time, they were giving out bonus bids on signup. This created an ideal situation for me, giving me the bids necessary to thoroughly test the auction site. This promotion is to help spread the word about shopping with BidRack and show people how much they can save with surplus clearance auctions.
Wondering How BidRack Can Provide Such Deals?
BidRack gets their items from warehouse closeouts, surplus auctions, and liquidation clearance auctions. This is how they can offer such low prices in comparison to retail outlets.
What Do They Put Up For Auction?
I’ve seen everything from phones to computers, laptops, TVs, cameras, stereo equipment and pretty much anything you can think of.After going through a simple registration process on BidRack, I got my bids and began to try and win items listed up for auction. Before registering, I was still a little confused about the whole process – but after registering everything became clear.
I began to bid on the item I was after, a 42\" Panasonic LCD TV. Surprisingly, I won after a very short period of bidding. It cost me only $67.50 total for a $899 HDTV!
To make sure this wasn’t a fluke, I decided to try again to see if I could win another item – again, to my surprise I won yet again – this time the savings were bigger! I ended up spending $163 for a $1,199 MacBook Pro. Very impressive, and I don\’t think stores can match such deals!
Shipping – after I won the products and paid for them – I received the items in only a few days. Within a short period I had my items in hand. Simply amazing.
My Full Experience With BidRack*
Week One
Research on the penny Auction system and how it works, and how you could legitimately get 95% off retail prices. You buy bids to bid against others in auctions. If you win, you get to purchase the item at a reduced price. I saw there were many users who won multiple auctions and knew with the right strategy that could be me.
Week Two
After finding that BidRack was the most legitimate surplus auction site around, I decided to register and claim my 25 bonus bids with my first bidpack purchase. I messed up on my first try, and didn\’t win the auction, but it didn\’t cost me much, so I continued to try to really find out if this system works.
I developed my system. I started to look for an auction that didn\’t have a lot of bidders. Typically these were the auctions taking place between 1am-5am EST.
Week Three
After some trial and error, I was able to win my first auction. After that, I decided I’d try again and see if it was possible to win more than once in a row. This possibility became a reality, and I won my second auction. After this, my bids were mostly spent, however I was VERY EXCITED to see my cheap items being shipped to me!
Week Four
I received my items, All were brand new and they were in mint condition as promised. Packaging was very good. I will never use a regular auction site again! I still can’t believe I received these items for such a discounted price!
I couldn’t be any happier with the results
It’s really that easy!
Conclusion
Overall, I had a very positive experience with BidRack, which was very surprising to me. What once seemed impossible has now turned into a reality, a possibility to get 95% off retail!
Julie Ayers (channel news 9)
However:Here are some letters from consumers who bought into this scam:
I agree. Everyone please stay far away from this site. Why would they be able to auction things and take money off of your credit card when they didn’t even have the items in house. Claiming their supplier can’t keep up – must be they can’t keep up with anything according to several people I’ve seen posting on boards. Looks like everyone got that email. Do they think we are stupid? They are still auctioning off the same things people have won and can’t get! I don’t want more bids I want either my item or ALL of my money back including my bid packs.
BIDRACK.COM – STAY AWAY!!! This company sucks big time. I bought bids specifically to win the Apple iPad which I did and they charged my credit card. A month later I get an email from them stating that due to problems with their supplier that none of my items could be shipped. Funny, that day they were still auctioning off an Apple iPad but they didn’t have one to send me. They offere me a cheap piece of jewelry and 100 bids back. After I won the iPad I did google bidrack.com and I wish I had earlier. Nothing but complaints and same issues I am having – they do NOT deliver the goods!! On top of that those who paid for bids but lost the auction really got ripped off because they have no idea items didn\’t ship to the winners and bidrack keeps the money from those who lost the auction. I laughed at there offer of free bids because they don’t ship the goods so what good does it do me – they don’t send the items and then you have the hassle of getting your money back. In fact if I hadn’t called them it doesn’t appear they would have credited my credit card (still waiting to see if this actually happens though). In my opinion they are at the very least a poorly run company if not a complete scam. PLEASE FOR YOUR SAKE STAY AWAY!!!
BidRack is a scam run by Deepak Argawal he is responsible for many online scams. They will ship cheap items, expensive ones when people complain and maybe refunds if you complain enough. You can spend hours begging for your money back OR you can CALL YOUR BANK AND DISPUTE THE CHARGE. This takes 10 minutes at most, if they want you to sign some forms, print these complaints and mail it back with a copy to your local politician. Your money will be refunded 100% of the time guaranteed. IT will also cost bidrack $35-$100 when you call your bank and dispute the charge. This will get them shut down and put out of business.
CALL YOUR BANK AND DISPUTE THE CHARGE, DO NOT DEAL WITH BIDRACK
rumorcontrol.info the same thing. Julia Millers and there’s a different photo.
unitednationnews.cn.mn and rumorcontol.info are scams. if yu see the ads, its acai weight loss free trail! its a scam website.
The same people now have the same thing with the African Mango and a colon cleanse with all the same claims. If you have bought this and they won’t refund you or you cannot cancel call your credit card company and request they stop payment (even if payment is made they have the resources to get it back). If you have a bank that will not credit you and fight for you cancel the card (same as you would if your card was stolen…so future charges will not be approved.
Talk about scams! While looking into the new weight loss craze, African Mango, I came across and saved this website to my favorites with the intent to come back to it later.:
consumershealthdigest.com/reports/mango1.php
When I revisited the site I noticed that African Mango was no where to be seen in the article. It was now talking about hcg and advanced probiotics (going off memory) as a weight loss solution. I figured that I must have saved the wrong page and not realized it. Then I revisited that saved website again and now noticed that most of the the article stayed the same but the links highlighted in blue CHANGES. That same article is now talking about Acai Ultra AND Mango Pure. Just thought you all should be aware of the kind of misleading stuff that’s going on out there.
Hi Alyssa,
Thanks for the comments. This perfectly illustrates how disgusting these scammers are. They just move from one weight loss scam to another. Incredible.
I really wish I would have seen your blog sooner. When I saw the ‘news ad’ I did google it a bit, but I guess not well enough. I ordered the Acai Reduce and it said I would only have to pay for shipping: $7.50.
Now, looking at my bank statement I see TWO withdrawalas for 99.18 and 99.78 from IGNITE HEALTH. And I after receiveing the ‘free trial’ I never did see a wuthdrawal of 7.50. I did get the acai reduce, one package of it. I also ordered the ‘cleanse’ they offer. And that hasn’t come at all.
If you think that is all you need to go to this site too. mylifestylenews.com/index1.html. What is so stupid is they are all the same story almoast word for word. How can this tupe of lying in advertising go on?
I found this scam link on a link for Dr Oz my Facebook page! Not happy about this!
I found the results and comments about acai berry are almost the same as other diet reporter. I doubt this is another fake ad. Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to place the order before doing any research. I will call to cancel the order in the morning. I hope I can reach them to cancel the order.
OMG! thank you guys for this info. I almost fell for it!!! the incredible thing is that the article that I read (the one that almost got me to buy the acai) is alfo from this Julia girl but the picture was totally different from the ones that you are showing here. what a scam!!!!! these people should be sued
I have ordered acai beri and liposom from this website, but after reading this, am wondering if that too was a scam?? The site I used was:
http://collagenrenew.net/diet/uk/news/index.php?t202id=81091&t202kw
i also fell for the acai berry scam with julia miller also the colon cleanser scam.i was fuming and also asked myself how could i have been so stupid when it was to good to be true. The worst was i borrowed my husbands card so felt such a fool explaining id been conned!! he rang our bank and they cancelled his card there and then. my 2 bottles are thrown in a draw I wish i could afford to get them analized to see if they are safe to take?has anyone already done this? the only good thing that has come from this is I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON!!!!! and never ever will i be as trusting
I found a different weight loss scam involving a Julie Ayers trying to sell Hcg . This is the link to that consumershealthdigest.com/reports/mango1.php?
lol I am from Omaha…
Wow a news pop up? I looked into it. It said Channel 8 health reporter… I knew it rite away! We don’t even have a Channel 8 news. Kinda funny I wounder how many stupid people are going to buy this. I also wounder if some ass from Omaha or our metro area buys it. People just believe every thing on the ole Internet.
No wonder this message to Julia Miller was returned as undevliverable. I have tried for months to resolve this matter
Ms. Miller,
On November 28, 2010 you wrote an article for Health News regarding some weight loss products: LeanSpa Acai and Nature Cleanse. You wrote several convincing pages describing better energy and sounder sleep. In the conclusion you encouraged readers to try it for themselves; “ the results are real….and you have nothing to lose. Follow the links to the “free” bottles…know that you are getting a quality product….no strings attached!” I also read through the comments section following your article.
Well, Ms. Miller, Please let me tell you about my experiences, not with the product but with the companies of those products you endorsed. Considering the timing of the article during the holiday season, who wouldn’t want a little help? I ordered both “free products” aware of shipping and handling charges. I was not aware of the automatic enrollment into monthly deliveries. As soon as I realized the “strings” I immediately contacted both companies to cancel further shipments.
I also asked for RMA numbers in order to return the “free bottles of product”. I signed up for trial products 11/28/2010, received products, called for the necessary RMA numbers to return products 12/10/2010 and shipped BOTH back 12/11/2010 (I have dated receipt) within the time allowed.
LeanSpa sent me three follow up emails: an RMA number and how to return the product, TWO emails confirming cancellation of the account and assurance that there would be no further billings. End of story, this customer satisfied.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that Nature Cleanse has handled business in the same way. Although I contacted the company’s sales reps for their RMA return number AND requested cancellation. I was charged $78.98 for a product I did not keep. I returned the product in the same packaging with the identifying return number (#4678641231756228) and the company rep who gave me the RMA also gave me a verification number for cancellation (#467864) of the auto ship. I believe I followed instructions WITHIN the given time limits.
I called the company in January, 2011, February, and March asking for a refund of the $78.98. I ultimately filed a complaint with the Utah Better Business Bureau:
Case: 22112487
Password:
It has been many months since this all began. I am asking for your help in this matter. Is this the kind of business you endorse? I was swayed by your article, not realizing the auto enroll, the difficulty of changing my mind, of NOT wanting the products. I believe my money should be refunded in full $78.98.
Sincerely,
Eileen T
ACAI BERRY AGAIN.
NEWS WHATEVER ADVERTISING AS LINK WHEN USING DICTIONARY.COM
HELEN COHEN IS NAME OF London (WeeklyHealthNewsUK).
I don’t remember how I ended up on this website but maybe it’s right action that caused it.
in the past I listen to commercials all the time, and I discovered one that reall y does work at losing weight!
all it takes is a trip to a department store to purchase an item and a trip to the supermarket and then bam your losing a pound a day!
I gaind weight to 192lbs and now I’m at 178 and I going to go to 147
and I’m eating the same diet I always eat but lose weight eating it
I was scammed by this and i cant do anything but send them an email saying i am cancelling “service” with them though i have not received the product and then today as i am checking my accounts on line i see this charge for almost 90 american. all my bank can do is dispute it if they bill me again. This isn’t right. These people need to be stopped and they should have to pay all monies back.
well DUH
on my facebook homepage i saw what it looked like a newstory. this time is with african mango and colon cleanser. it looks like it´s the same thing as the açai berry. it mentions oprah too to give them credibility and the reporter and the free trials, etc. it´s in Spanish!!!! which means that these guys are working worldwide!!!
These scammers are at it again! It is being advertised as The Wedding Dress Diet on Facebook and the website listed is the whitedressdiet.com! The only difference is that now these scumbags are trying to push an african mango supplement. They didn’t even bother to change the alledged reporter’s name. That’s right, Julia Miller is still claiming to have lost 25lbs. in 4 week, only this time she did it using a product by the name of Get Slender Mango and on a fake news site called Daily Consumer Alerts.
This company also endorsed Africaian Mango and Coleanse through New channels. They trick you into ordering a trial bottle of each, product never arrives. Then within 14 days charge you for two more bottles on your credit card charging $70 and $90 monthly. You call and they never answer the phone. If you do manage to get through no guarantee your charges will be canceled. Some law enforcement agency in the USA needs to stop these people.
Latest free trial of the African Mango, is called \"Organa slim\" where a so called reporter for \"Womens Health Magazine Six\" by the name of Helen Hasman has trialed the product to review it and lost 10kgs in 4 weeks.
I only came across this as it was advertised on facebook so i clicked the link, only because im cautious about purchasing things on the net i decided to do a Google Search first on the Reporter and product only to find there was no info which i found suprising seens as shes aparantly a reporter for a magazine.
There was also another free trial but this time being trialed by a woman called \"Susan Jeffers\" and then \"Helen Cohen\"which is the exact same advertising just different pictures.
So being from Australia i thought id see if it could be purchased from here rather than overseas, and seens as it said in the advertising it was \"Australias new super diet pill\" you would think you could purchase it here and to my surprise you can\’t purchase it in Australia at all!!
Every link led back to the same company, yet the more i looked the more i found.
Hopefully people research the product before purchasing as there are heaps of scam sites that come up when ORGANASLIM is typed in and alot of warning signs not to purchase….
It is very dissapointing as it gets people\’s hopes up thinking they may of found something to help lose those last stubborn kilos only to be scammed.
These people really need to be stopped!
some of us dont know that there isnt a channel 8 news….Im all the way in london n i ordered this n now i realize its a scam i dunno what to do….
I just thought Id mention Acai berry isn’t the only scam going on with “Julia Miller” health reporter for “Weekly Health News” The article is about this amazing weight loss product called “cellan” (african mango product) which apparently their health reporter Julia Miller claims she lost 25 lbs using the product. They also say Free Trail. SCAM. Its very obvious this article was basically cut and pasted from the Acai berry article with the names of the product changed from Acai berry to “cellan” or ” African mango” the photo of Julia Miller is once again different then the others. The whole reason I found your site about this scam is because after reading both articles in the past 3 months with the same name reporter doing 2 different diets in which she claims to have lost 25 lbs with each one I decided to do a little research! So if you haven’t got it already you can add ” Weekly News” to the pile of BOGUS news sites.
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