Federal Trade Commission

There is an old corny joke -

Q- How Do You Stop An Elephant From Charing?
A – Take Away His Credit Cards

Well, it looks like Visa has finally seen the giant Elephant in the room – All the Free Trial Acai Berry Scammers – and true to the joke, they have taken away their credit cards!

Visa Inc. Cuts Off 100 Merchants Who Have Been Deceiving Consumers

On December 17, 2009 Visa Inc. announced they cut off 100 scammers who used bogus marketing techniques to dupe consumers in the past six months. The scam involves what is called “negative option” or “forced continuity”. This is a process where the consumer signs up to get something for free (such as Acai or Resveratrol) and is just asked to enter a credit card to pay for shipping. What the consumer does not see is that there is tiny print buried pages deep in the site that says they give the company the right to charge them upwards of $90 a month and continue to bill them for products every month.

“The game here is to get people hooked, keep them on the hook for monthly charges as long as you can, and only stop making those charges when you’re forced to,” said Stephen Salter, vice president of BBB Online. BBB has received thousands of complaints about the problem, with multiple companies to blame. “The product is irrelevant to getting the charges on the card.”

Let’s All Welcome Visa Inc on Board the Stop Acai Scams Bandwagon – What Took You So Long!

Any regular regular of this blog knows that we have been calling for authorities to shut down these Acai scam sites for close to a year now. We have seen Attorney Generals from various states bring actions, The Better Business Bureau issue warnings and Oprah bringing a massive lawsuit against the scammers. Still, we have always felt the best way to stop these acai scammers was to hit them in the wallet and cut off their ability to accept credit cards. So, while Visa Inc is a little late to the party – we definitely welcome them and applaud their actions.

100 Merchants? Is That All the Acai Scammers Out There?

No – just a small drop in the bucket. The good news is this sends another signal to any company who practiced deception online that deceit does not pay. Maybe they were not caught in this round by Visa Inc. Maybe they were not named in the Oprah Lawsuit. Maybe the FDA and FTC has not filed charges against them today. Maybe the Attorney General in their state has not shut them down yet… but tomorrow is another day and they might be next.

We really believe the way to stop these Acai scams is to create an environment where the risk outweighs the reward. These scammers are all about making money and not getting caught. As they start to see more legal action taken, their risk of getting caught increases. Let’s hope everyone keeps applying more pressure so we can all believe in the old adage again – crime does not pay!

Additional Resources:

Black Belt Course In Spotting Acai Berry Scams

Visa Inc Information on Negative Option and Deceptive Marketing

Visa, FTC and BBB Press Release on Avoiding Online Scams

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