One Sick Mother

Natural Herbs Clinic: Scam

Well, it’s been a while since I brought any news scams to your attention. I had gotten a bit tired of the whole business, to tell you the truth. It's quite soul destroying and generally unaffirming.  Also, the amount of work involved with keeping up with scammers is quite daunting. However, I happened upon a new scam recently, which I thought you should know about.

Natural Herbs Clinic claims to treat a number of very tricky-to-treat medical conditions, from hair loss (Alopecia), to cancer (Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia) and a bunch in between (hello, Motor Neuron Disease).

How Do I Know It’s A Scam?

Well first, let’s look at a legitimate company and take some notes on what characterizes them: We’ll look at Nature made, which most of you will probably recognize.

You see this stuff on shelves in pharmacies and supermarkets. It is sold on Amazon. More importantly, take a look at the very bottom of the site and you will see this:

© 2002-2011 Pharmavite ® LLC. All Rights Reserved

Oh Look! A company name! And if I follow that, I get a website with a corporate address, phone numbers, hours of operation and all sorts of other information:

In other words: Accountability

If I take some of their product and it makes me sick or dead, my lawyer can find them in order to sue them.  And if my lawyer can’t do that; well, they are an American company producing dietary supplements, therefore, Pharmavite is answerable to the FDA. So if they do make me sick or dead, I can sic the FDA on them. Or my beneficiaries can, at least.

How are Natural Herbs Clinics not accountable? Well, they fail a few basic tests: There is no registered corporation associated with this site (who do I sue if it hurts me?). Here is their contact "information":

I used to live in the United Kingdom, and I can assure you of this: That is not a valid mailing address.

So again, they have absolutely no accountability. You can e-mail them until you’re blue in the face, but e-mails are very easily deleted.

Where’s the corporation name and registration details?

Where's the phone number?

How about office hours?

Or maybe the name of someone to contact?

Do we even know in wehich country they are bases? They say the UK, but it coudl be Pakistan, Somalia or Timbuktu for all we really know. 

Nothing. There is nothing here except a website, a PayPal account and an e-mail address. All of these can be shut down in a few hours. It all screams “fly-by-night” to me.

 

Scammy Scam Scam.

The other way I know this site is a scam is because I recognize a lot of the language, ingredients and other factors therein. The people running this site have been taking lessons from the people running other sites I have outed as scams. Maybe they are the same people? I don’t know.

And lastly, I know it’s a scam because (...oh God). Because I READ it. Without blinkers. Without blind hope that it will cure me of anything! I read it dispassionately and objectively. Let me break down some of the wording from the …let’s pick one: …Alopecia (may as well start at the top) page. And let's start by saying the language, grammar, and syntax doesn't sound very UK to me at all. It reads very English-is-not-my-first-language. Here goes with an example:

Our herbal formula has been designed and formulated to live up to your rations and cure this disorder of irregular hair loss on the skin and scalp. This formula has been produced after a detailed research done on the herbs that have been used to formulate this herbal formula. Every ingredient used in the product is herbal and involves no harsh chemicals. The medication is suitable for all and shows results within 20 to 25 days without causing any side effects to other parts of the body. This herbal formula has been administered by experts working round the clock to invent treatment options for every identified disease in the universe.

See what I mean about the English? Let's break it down some more:

Our herbal formula has been designed and formulated to live up to your rations

Huh? 

AmIright?

… and cure this disorder of irregular hair loss on the skin and scalp.

Cure. They said “cure”. Not treat. Cure. Now, stop and actually think for a minute: Don’t you think, if they actually had a cure for Alopecia (or cancer) that this would be NEWS somewhere? Like in the UK, where they claim to be based? But it isn’t. Hmmmmmm.

This formula has been produced after a detailed research done on the herbs that have been used to formulate this herbal formula.
Yes. Because nutmeg is so linked to hair retention in the research. …NOT.

Every ingredient used in the product is herbal and involves no harsh chemicals.
Yeahright. We’ll get to that later

The medication is suitable for all and shows results within 20 to 25 days without causing any side effects to other parts of the body.
Suitable for all. …ALL? Seriously? Babies? pregnant women? Nursing mothers? The elderly? ...regardless of other medical conditions (diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure…)? Regardless of ANY medications you might be on (MAO inhibitors, anyone)? And no side effects whatsoever? Not in anyone, ever? Not even some constipation? Maybe a little dry mouth?

AN ITCHY BUM?

NOTHING????? REALLY???

So it's a full-on cure with no side effects whatever. Somebody call Rupert Murdoch, because this is a first in the entire history of medicine.  

This herbal formula has been administered by experts working round the clock to invent treatment options for every identified disease in the universe.
I don’t believe this for a second. Show me the proof, Natural Herbs Clinic. Publish the address of your research and development team. Show me the names and credentials of these 'round the clock' eager scientific beavers. How about published research, peer reviews and oversight? And speaking of oversight: Who regulates your manufacturing and quality control to ensure no contaminants get into the product?

And then there are the little quirks and inconsistencies all over the site –just this Alopecia page –not just the entire site. My favorite?

In order to see the results immediately make sure that you do not miss out the doses on daily basis.

And later on the same page…

This herbal product does not show results immediately
(I can’t make this stuff up!)

And then there are the Ingredients from their site:

Ingredients

Nutmeg 43.47 mg

Spanish chamomile 43.47 mg

Egg Shell Calcium 43.47 mg

Coral calcium 43.47 mg

Indian Rennet 43.47 mg

Cowhage 43.47 mg

Wattle Bark 43.47 mg

Cloves 43.47 mg

African rue 43.47 mg

Elephant Creeper 43.47 mg

Cinnabar 43.47 mg

Note the exact same amounts of each listed ingredient

..Annnnd let’s look at them again

Nutmeg 43.47 mg -Have it on the spice rack. TYVM

Spanish chamomile 43.47 mg -Isn’t’ that just chamomile from Spain? I have some tea with that in it.

Egg Shell Calcium 43.47 mg -That’s just ground up eggshells. I could grind them up myself, but I happen to know that humans can’t absorb them. Useless Filler

 

Fuckit I’m bored. Let’s just fast-forward to the end.

Cinnabar 43.47 mg
And now we get to the nasty one. Cinnabar, AKA Mercury Sulphide, AKA Red Mercury. Yes. You read right: Mercury. And in a form which was known for centuries to be toxic to people. If you don’t believe me, believe Medscape:

“Ingestion of inorganic mercury compounds can result in severe toxicity, and blood mercury concentrations in excess of 220 µg/l are associated with severe clinical effects. [1] Fatalities have been reported after ingestion of 0.5 g by an adult, with a mean lethal adult dose of 1-4 g. [1] Inorganic mercury causes toxicity by two mechanisms. First, mercuric ions precipitate proteins that cause direct necrosis on contact with tissues; this occurs in the mouth, stomach, large bowel and kidney. [2] Mercuric ions accumulate in the kidneys (accounting for 85-90% of the body burden), [1] causing acute renal failure due to necrosis of the proximal tubular epithelium, usually within 24 hours. [2] Second, inorganic mercury complexes with a number of ligands, particularly sulphydryl groups, causing inhibition of enzymes and protein transport mechanisms. [2] This causes a metabolic acidosis and, in the early phases of toxicity, it can cause death due to metabolic acidosis, vasodilatation and shock.”

These people are selling you poison. That's the bottom line. 

But in case you still don't believe that this site is a scam: check out their ingredients for the following products (scroll down to the ingredients section) on each link.

Retinosis pigmentosa (identical list -including quantities to the "cure" for Alopecia)

Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia (identical again)

Emphysema (also identical)

Eye bags (um-hmm)

Scleroderma (you get the picture)

So the same bogus-with-special-added-poison formula is supposed to cure six different ailments, where Big Pharma failed? If  you believe that: I have some real estate on Mars -going cheap!-  which would suit you beautifully.  

 

Finally: About That Refund Policy

Well, I have been doing this for a few years, and I have heard from many, many people who have tried and failed to get their money back from scam artists like this: Basically, It all leads me back to my first point: Accountability.

Say  you are unsatisfied with the product and you want a refund. You return it and you hear ....nothing; -which is usually what happens, BTW. What can you do then? You can e-mail the website.  But you may not hear back, or you may hear platitudes and excuses for weeks on end. What do you do then?

There is nothing you can do.

You can’t call them -there's no phone number.  You can’t write them, the address isn’t valid. You can’t sic your lawyer on them, because he won't find them either. "Natural Herbs Clinic" could be anywhere in the world!

You can’t even go through your credit card company, because they only accept PayPal. You can try and search for them online, but all you will find is a bunch of fake blogs and message board entries on places like cancer sites; -the scammers trying to sell the products to sick people and drum up business.

So you are out $100, have probably ingested poison and they get off scott free.

Please don't order any of these products, no matter how desperate your medical condition. They won't help and they might hurt you.

For the love of Pete, just don’t do it.

 

Oh, Christmas Tree

I asked Grace and her friend to decorate our Christmas tree last week. They are both 12 now, and it was a great way to channel their energy. What could go wrong? (Ahem)

Well, over the years our pre-lit tree has become less and less "lit", so there were lights to be strung in the blank bits. While I was doing that, the girls pulled out some of Grace's old toys; -favorites from when they had been in 3rd grade.  They were playing (rather irreverently) with Barbies and High School Musical dolls, including an old Barbie car which still worked.  They had a blast and kept out of my hair. 

When it came time to decorate the tree, we had a problem with the star for top. It was too tall to fit (maybe it had worked better on our previous tree? I forget). So the girls' solution was to dress Troy Bolton in a wedding dress, give him a purse, and place him on top of the tree.

 

 Works for me!

 Happy Holidays to all my readers!

A Question for the NRA Supporters.

As everyone knows, there was another school shooting here in the States last week. This one was particularly bad, as 20 first-graders were killed.

I don't know if it is due to this fact, or the rise in social media; -or maybe a bit of both, but the gun control argument has really gotten intense this time. 

And the NRA has shut down it's facebook page and kept completely schtum. Apparently, this is in keeping with their policy.  

But I have things I want to say to the leadership and members of the NRA. I have questions I want to ask. I'm not the only one, I know.  And as I can't ask them on their turf, I will ask on mine. This isn't restricted to NRA members, of course. Any pro-gunner can feel free to jump in with answers.

I want to say first,  that I do respect your second amendment right to be available as an armed militia. 

(or maybe this image was more what you had in mind?)

So you can use your weapons to rise up against an unjust Government.

(Yep. I can totally see how a handgun, rifle and especially a semi-automatic would have helped out here. Um-hmm.)

Or maybe you just want to protect your home and property, as a Facebook friend of mine posted (direct cut & paste here -no changes from me):

"Oh dear! Defending myself or my family from intruders is not a DEADLY ACT! What is wrong with some of you people that are against guns? They can PROTECT ALSO!!!

Anybody else I guess that does not RESPECT my right to defend myself or my family with a use of A gun for protection and wants to DELETE me because of that ....Feel free to do so...It will not hurt my feelings... Because someone DELETED ME because of my right to PROTECT MY FAMILY.... I thought in debates LOL there was suppose to be a RESPECT ISSUE...Guess not!"

(So it's a matter of respect, apparently. OK.)

 

But I have a serious question for the "pro-gunners" out there: If I told you that in order to save the life of a child, six years old; you needed to make some concessions. Go think of a six-year old you know or knew. Think of his or her friends.  Now to save that child, would you be willing to:

• Place trigger locks on your guns?
• Use a gun safe in your home?
• Give up access to semi-automatic weapons?
• ...or high-capacity ammo cartdriges?
• Take a gun safety test?
• Carry a permit?
• Get re-certified every few years? Would you do that?
• Submit every adult in the household to a full background check?
• What about a mental health screening for you and every adult living in your house (repeated every few years)?
• How's about a 6-month wait period?  Would you be up for that? (No? how about 3 months?)

If you answered "no" to any of those questions, think back on that six year old and ask yourself what is so important about that point you are unwilling to concede, that it is worth their life?

And now put yourself in Nancy Lanza's shoes and know that the six-year-old in her case was NOT imaginary. Several six year olds died on Friday, as did several others, including Nancy herself and her beloved son. 

Nancy was a pro-gunner, I am sure. However if she were around to express an opinion today, I wonder what she would recommend? And please don't say that it will never happen to you; you're trained and take all precautions. I'm sure that's what Nancy would have said.

But the unthinkable happened to her.

And the problem with the unthinkable: you can't expect it, can't plan for it, you can't think it! So you have to take precautions against it.  Just in case.

Because it may be your right to own a gun, but it is also everyone else's right to not get shot, unless they happen to be invading your home at the time, of course.

We need to pass a test, carry a license and insurance in order to drive a car, because cars can cause damage and take lives if used improperly. Why don't we have the same basic precautions on guns, which are much more dangerous in the wrong hands?

And on the "We need more guns to protect outselves against guns" argument, I will say this. If I have a gun and I attack you, and you have your gun to defend yourself, what are the chances that at least one of us is getting shot? Pretty darn high.

However, if I don't have a gun and I attack you, and you don't have a gun to defend yourself, what are the chances of us getting shot then?

ZERO.

There might be angry words and a blow or two. We may hate each other forever and curse when we see each other. But we will both still be alive to do it.  

 And despite the fight we just had, I'd rather see you alive.