➟ Promises of no-risk money-back guarantees. If after
30 days you have not lost at least four pounds each
week, your uncashed check will be returned to you,and
the like.➟ Promises of an easy fix. For many serious diseases,
there are no cures, only therapies to help manage
them.➟ Paranoid accusations — suggesting that healthcare
providers and legitimate manufacturers are in league
with each other to suppress this miracle cure.Look closely at the vocabulary that these Web sites
use. The words in dayscan mean any amount of time.
The term rapidis ambiguous.Beware of products offered as a Free Trial! — You pay
only shipping and handling. In these cases, the charges
levied for shipping and handling are exhorbitant and
one way scammers make money. Think about it: If the
pills cost them 45 cents and the mailing costs them
two dollars, but they charge $19.95 in shipping and
handling, they still earn $17.50 from every customer.
If they can scam ten thousand consumers, they earn
$175,000 dollars.Surveys on Health Can Make You Sick
Quizzes and surveys you find online (such as the one shown in Figure
14-8), including those on social networking sites, are usually entertain-
ing and may seem like a harmless pastime. But quiz and survey compa-
nies are for-profit businesses. Because consumer information is a
commodity, you should assume that information you enter in quizzes
and surveys is being sold. (Chapter 8 provides more information about
quizzes and surveys.)290
Part III: Protecting Your Wealth and Your Health