As you can probably tell, the ad above is a scam. We’ve all seen clickbait ads before, and we know that “Nature’s Liquid Adderall” is not “taking over the internet.” Odds are, you’re not clicking on that ad. But if you were to click on it, it would take you to what looks like a news article by “Michael Smith,” purportedly both a health journalist and a biochemist, making some truly incredible claims.
According to this “Consumer Health Report,” famous TV doctors, CEOs and celebs can’t stop recommending these drops. They treat anxiety, depression, ADHD … and arthritis. They’re made from “the wisdom of five ancient healing nutrients combined with cutting-edge science” — said “nutrients” being Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, Chaga and Turkey Tail — and you can finally get them legally, online, without a prescription. Thank goodness for that, because the last time I checked, my local pharmacist was all out of Turkey Tail.
Oh — and they’re selling out fast. 7.2 million in the last week alone, and if you don’t act now you’ll have to wait until they can make more.
It even promises to turn your brain pretty colors!
The article even includes a little FDA logo … which actually just says that it has been made in an FDA “approved facility” … which I’m pretty sure is not a thing.
But there’s a reason this particular ad was highlighted recently by Truth In Advertising (TINA), and it’s not because “Nature’s Smart Drops” actually do “alleviate attention deficit, anxiety, low energy, brain fog, aches and pains and dozens of ailments without prescriptions, popping pills or nasty side effects.” Rather, it’s because way down at the bottom, there is an actual disclaimer noting that the whole damn thing is a work of fiction. (We’ve added the boldface.)
The information presented on this website is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The story is a dramatization and fictional. This website is a market place. The owner has a material financial connection to the provider of the goods and services referred to on the site in that it receives compensation for clicks onto the ad or for sales of the product. The story depicted on the website is fictional unless stated otherwise. The results portrayed in the story and in the comments are illustrative, and may not be the results that you achieve using the product. Please consult with your health care practitioner for all your health care needs. The testimonials on this website are individual cases and do not guarantee that you will get the same results.
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! The story is a dramatization and fictional!
I mean, honestly — them’s some balls right there. I’ve seen a lot of obviously ridiculous advertising claims in my life, but they don’t usually come right out and say “yeah, this whole thing is a work of fiction and these magic drops are probably not going to do anything for you at all.” I’m a little impressed.
Not only that, but if you order a bottle of this crap, you may end up paying for something you’ll never get — over and over again.
If you look at the Better Business Bureau reviews, it becomes clear that this is not just a one time scam. People buy one bottle only to find out that they triggered a subscription, for which they get charged every month and it’s apparently not very clear how to stop it.
BUYER BEWARE! I can't comment on the efficacy of the product bc I NEVER RECIEVED [sic] anything! Order initially placed in October 2023 $148.84, no product delivered. Charged another $238 the following month with no product received d.t auto-subscribe that I never agreed to. 5 phone calls with 3 additional promises of "8 bottles on its way." NO PRODUCT EVER NEVER RECIEVED. Told company I would follow through with my threat to report them to BBB earlier today and I just received my refund today February 7 **
You know, they’re cruel, they’re scam artists, but one thing they’re not is stupid. They’re specifically targeting people with a cognitive disorder that makes them impulsive, less likely to scroll all the way down to the fine print (especially given how chaotic the ad itself is) and less likely to regularly look at their bank accounts … at a time when we are going on year two of a shortage of the actual medication many of them need and people are feeling desperate.
There ought to be a law. There ought to be more regulations on supplements, more regulations that bar people from selling fake medicinal products that don’t do anything, that bar them from specifically targeting people with cognitive disabilities, and slapping “for entertainment only purposes only” on an advertisement shouldn’t allow anyone to make outrageous claims about their products and services. Sure, people could sue, but it’s likely that the only way that happens is if they successfully con enough of them for a class action lawsuit, because instead of having regulations that prevent people from doing this in the first place, the onus is put on victims to seek their own justice. That they are doing this so brazenly is proof that something is very, very wrong with this system.
OPEN THREAD!
PREVIOUSLY:
What if -- and I'm just spitballing here -- but what if we had single-payer health care so that everyone could go to any doctor where they are and whenever it might be good to go and could afford all the medications that they needed every single time they were needed?
If people were having their health cared for and prescriptions didn't cost $148, wouldn't fewer people be desperate for a scam that sells bottles of homeopathic swamp sludge for $5?
I don't know. Just a crazy ass idea of mine for lowering fraud-related crimes while NOT throwing more people in prison, which we then have to pay for.
I was in the Masons Union (big-stone setter, marble granite and the like building 5-stars) years ago when I lived in Hawaii. We were required to put money into a "retirement account." Pretty stiff at like $250 a month. Making $35 an hour plus much overtime and a half in the late 80's early 90's -- yay unions! -- and my housing expense picked-up by my employer I didn't much care or notice. I had contributed about $15K over 5 years. It was just assumed the pension fund would be pilfered if history were to hold. In fact, the current union head had just got out of prison for embezzling that very fund and then reelected upon his release -- it's Hawaii!! -- Well, it didn't get absconded with and I got a letter from a pension rep last week. They must have invested pretty well cause 30 years later they are sending me a FAT fuckin check. Had I known it was available during my party days I would have blown threw it.
Dirty finally gets a break.