Scams Hurt Everybody

In any industry there are good and bad companies, products and people. We live in an imperfect world. So although it stings at the time, no one is REALLY surprised when a bad apple or two shows up on their tree.

In the area of nutritional supplements there is a wide window of opportunity for people to create products and market them. Nutritional supplements are not regulated in the same way that medicines are. Personally I think that is a good thing most of the time. I don't want the government to tell me that I can't take my vitamin C! But we all know that if you leave a window open, a thief will take the opportunity to sneak in! 

That is why I applaud the actions of Mike Adams, Editor and reporter over at NaturalNews.com Over this past week Mike was asked so many times about the company Adya Clarity that he decided to look into them. What he saw was a huge fraud involving the ingredients of the products and what was listed on the label. That led to a string of questions, and an investigation being launched. What has been uncovered makes the incorrect label look like a micronized rock next to the mountain it was mined from! 

That story got me to thinking… how many people feel that they may have been a victim of a scam, and simply don't know what to do, or who to ask to look into it. So thanks to Mike Adams, and borrowing some of his article for reference, and adding some thoughts and resources of my own, I hope you will be better armed, if ever you feel that you might have been a victim of a nutritional supplement scam.

Nutritional Scams – What If You Are Selling It?

I can't tell you what to do, should you find yourself in a position to seriously question a product you are selling. Why don't I show you what Mike Adams did, as I report in this article? 

It would have been in my financial interests to say nothing. Instead, I stepped forward immediately and began to ask the important questions about the safety of this product.

Even as I was doing what was right, other Adya distributors circled the wagons to protect their profits rather than protecting customers. Many distributors continued to sell the product from their own stores, or even offer "2 for 1" specials to try to clear out inventory as quickly as possible. A very small number of other distributors of Adya or "black mica extract" have now taken the product off their stores while they attempt to gather more information.  ~Mike Adams

Those are powerful ACTIONS. Everyone knows Mike Adams is a pillar of integrity, not just in the natural health community, but people around the world can read about him, and his works and see that he fights tirelessly for what is right. In my quietest moments I aspire to live up to theexample people like Mike Adams set. 

Still, even for a man of his stature, popularity and esteem, there were people who tried to diminish his reputation. See what he says about that.

That Adya promoters would attempt to attack myself and NaturalNews by falsely claiming that we promoted the product is yet another example of the dirty, slimy tactics to which this group will resort when they are cornered by the truth.

Facts are stubborn things, however, and as the facts continue to emerge surrounding this product — its fraudulent marketing, its deceptive labeling, its outrageous profit margins and much more — it will become abundantly clear to the entire natural products community that Adya Clarity was a grand deception which hoodwinked many well-meaning people into selling a deceptively-labeled product that can only be called a fraud. ~Mike Adams

One thing I love about Mike. He sure doesn't sugar coat anything. I only wish I had his courage! I only wish that the world were filled with more people like Mike Adams! He is one of America's National Treasures as far as I am concerned!

Nutritional Supplement Scams

What to do if you think you have been "taken"

There are a number of resources that you can tap into that are designed to protect the consumer.

Again first allow me to quote Mike Adams, and then I will add some of my own. 

 

Action items…

Do you live in Canada? …..

Here are the exact phone numbers and emails:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/comp…

(You have to scroll down the page to see the numbers.)

If you live in the United States, you may wish to contact the FTC (for the fraudulent marketing) or the FDA (for the outrageous health claims) about this product:

Here is the FTC Complaint Assistant:

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_W…

Here are the FDA Consumer Complaint coordinators, state by state:

http://www.fda.gov/safety/reportapr…

Now I have some other ideas about who you can contact. 

• Contact: Mike Adams  -As you can see from the Adya Clarity story Mike is a tireless advocate for the people. If he hears from enough people he will investigate.
• Contact The Attorney General (if you live in US) in your state. If you can determine the location of the company main offices, contact the attorney general in that state as well. Visit here to see a list of all of the States A.G. s
• Look online for consumer watchdogs, and contact them. There are a number of people and agencies out there who will advocate for individuals either by reporting on the event (if enough people call) or by sharing who you may be able to contact that could help. There are also tv programs like 60 minutes that investigate stories. 
• Contact the BBB – While the BBB is unlikely to be able to help you directly, they will often post complaints on their website for others to see.
• Contact an Attorney- If you feel that you have been harmed by the scam you can often get a free 1 hour consultation. It might be worth exploring whether you have enough evidence to launch a class action lawsuit. 
• Contact the local police- Was the scam a criminal operation? Your local law enforcement agency can help you determine that. 

The bottom line is, when you are faced with the dishonesty of other people, and people are getting hurt by drinking water that doesn't have full disclosure on the label, as in The Adya Clarity case, or people are losing money… think Bernie Madoff, you need to stand with others and report it. After all, if you don't, who will? 

I might even ask myself…

What would Mike do?