Posts
It is always frustrating to realize you have fallen into a scam trap. But what is worse than that? Realizing moments later that you think it might be a scam! Right AFTER you entered credit card information and clicked SUBMIT.
My Mom and I were researching diet/weight loss supplements for me to try, as we both found it odd that excercising made me GAIN weight, and sorry guys, I did not gain 20 pounds of muscle. Trust me. I know that Diabetics on Insulin can find it impossible to lose weight, and no, so far I am not taking insulin, but I am a Diabetic so it makes me wonder it the weight gain is related to the other health issues I am still dealing with (the hypoglycemic almost daily, the peeing every 30 minutes, etc.). So my Mom agreed I could try something to help me shed some of the weight. I did not go through the agonizing pain of a gastric bypass to fear I may see those numbers on the scale again AND be back on 10 Diabetes medications!
So my Mom found this website that rated some of the meds you can get at CVS, etc. But I had looked previously at Acai (Ah-sigh-EE) products. And while we were looking at some of the different ones, we even found a blog for a lady in my home town! But we continued to look, because who knows if a blog is real. So we found a site that asked "Is it for real or a scam?" and it said it was like ch6news or some news site like that, and it was like hey, a news channel, let's go there. And it was an article by a newsperson who was asked to try this certain regimen of Acai Optimum and Advanced Cleanse. And how she was so skeptical and it figures they would take the plump reporter to try this. But then amazingly enough, pounds started coming off and she was feeling great and full of energy. Exactly what I wanted! And the top of the news site said the products were backed by CNN, ABC, CBS News, etc. So I was completely psyched and my Mom liked the article and that these major news people were backing using this product. So we, with a lot of difficulty, signed up for the free trials where all we had to pay was for S+H. We did note that if we didn't CANCEL before the 2 weeks, they would charge us these large amounts, so we wrote on the calendar a day to decide by. Because if it was working for me, the price would be worth it.
So we had these 2 products on their way. And then I still can't remember what prompted me, but I suddenly decided I wanted to make sure this news site was for real. So I entered just the first part of the address. Oh, hey look I found it, it is http://www.6newsreport.com. I entered just that part, expecting to see the main page of the news site. Nope, it was the same page as the Acai article. I clicked on Weather, same page. Traffic, same page. Everything was the same page!! So next, panicking and telling my Mom, "Oh Mom, I think I made a mistake", but she was still calm at this point. So I searched for Katie Olsen, the reporter who did the article. And the only site that had a Katie Olsen, was that Acai page. So then my Mom was back into it with me, and we went to CNN, and they actually say Acai is a fruit, just a fruit. Eating blueberries is just as healthy. Uh oh. Then we went to ABC News and they had an article that a real reporter wrote, she and her husband had tried the same TYPE of Acai pill with a cleanse. And not only did she not feel better, lose weight, etc. But then she talked about stuff that scared the crap out of me. She said they enrolled her into other programs that she was never able to get out of. She would call numbers and be told they had no idea who she was trying to reach. She also said she saw the small writing about the month trial really being 2 weeks, but they charged those huge amounts to her immediately and people on the phones were very uncooperative. Finally she had to call her Bank and close that credit card down, because she was still being charged for some of the programs she had never agreed to, MONTHS after she called and tried to opt out of everything.
So we started looking up confirmation numbers, etc. because we wanted to cancel ASAP. Before they even sent the pills out. We called the 800 number on the back of my Mom's debit card and talked to the bank representative. He said the S+H was already paid (which wasn't too upsetting at a total of $5.45) and there was no way to stop them unless we cancelled my Mom's card. So we did. They told her she could go down to the bank the next day (today) and immediately get a new card.
It was so upsetting. Not just because I had thought I had something that could really help me with the weight, I loved the idea of feeling more energized too and just feeling good. And to then realize, somehow, that this was a scam and being so scared what it could do to us, what it could do to my Mom's bank card, I was just shaking like a leaf.
I ended up having an anxiety attack. The shaking triggered a hypoglycemic attack too, so I am crying while I have to shove peanut butter crackers down my throat. Sam showed up and was like, I heard about this, you should have talked to me first. Urrrrrgghhh!! Yeah not helpful right then. So we did give Sam a list of some stuff from my Mom's website and she is going to research some for me, and some from GNC. We all agreed I do not need an appetite suppressant, heck with my small stomach, I am supposed to be eating 6 small meals a day, and I am not able to at this point still. I get maybe 4. So we are looking for metabolism boosters. So Sam is looking into that since she also (remember we call her Sarge) won't allow me to take anything with Hoodia, because of my Diabetes and heart troubles. And I also gave her the name of the pill a doctor prescribed Katie's friend Gina. Gina so does not need to lose weight, but she wants some pounds off and this doctor okayed it, so if I have to, I will so go see her doctor to get the pill if it works. I am feeling like I have ZERO self-esteem. Everything about me feels ugly. I need to TRY something to get me back on track. Something.
But anyway, this scam scare was just awful. I can only be grateful that something prompted me to do even more research than we had done before we ordered them. Otherwise we could be hundreds of dollars in debt and more as every month went by.
.jpg)
4 meaningful meanderings:
as far as dieting goes I have found the joy of Teavanna!
I love tea alot and well after drinking a bunch of there selection it has come really apparent that they are the best of the best of tea.
you havnt lived or experienced ture bliss till you drink there yummy teas ^_^
in 3 weeks or less I dropped 15 pounds since drinking all these lovely antioxidant enriched teas and motabolisim boosters its way awesome.
if your really wanting to shed pounds get monkey picked oolong
its not the cheapest tea they offer but my goodness through my experience it works it boosts your motabolisim and just makes you feel more up ^_^
they have alot of good flavors of tea to choose from and if you don't like tea just buy something simple and sample it.
they are all fresh and not dried up and crusty like lipton tea bags or anything like those supermarket brands that they offer you.
those teas end up being bitter and gross its becasue the leaves are stale and not full of what they say they are,
tho yes like all teas it does make you go running to the bathroom alot unless your just straight up used to it.
in any case I figured I would share with you an idea seeing as you want help ^_^
I have oodles of it all sorts of yummy flavors and the cool thing is a big percentage of them are blendable so if u want your tea super fruity you can add there fruit chunk blend into it for more flavor.
sorry about your scam scare Ireally hte those it happened to me once on ebay which is sad becasue i normally dont have issues with ebay and ever since that one I havnt had another so yeah.
it was just a fluke i guess.
You didn't enter your CC information in there, or did you? If you did... call your CC and make sure you explain what happened and you do not want them to okay any payment from them. If they do you should be okay anyways and just have them refund you.
As far as diet stuff goes, I struggle with it all too. I don't have diabetes, but my dad does. I do know that you really need to see your doctor though if you want to take pills, don't worry about a friend's doctor - just go to yours. They know all of your history and will help you too. GL :) ::hugs::
Yeah, you have to be really careful about buying stuff online. I only buy from places that also have legitimate physical stores.
Sheri's right. You need to go to your own doctor as they'll know what will work with your medical history, a friend's dr will not. You may also look into getting a notebook and doing a food diary for a week or two. Write down everything you eat and drink as well as how big your serving size was. After a week or two, review it. Sometimes it's not how often you eat or the meal size, but what you choose. Sodas and fruit juices are loaded with sugars and you could be drinking most of your calories. Add fruit (frozen or fresh) to your diet as well as more veggies. Also keep an eye on the dietary fiber content of some of your foods. Some things just need simple adjustments. Like tacos? Use the fat free refrieds and the carb smart Mission brand flour torts. Love pasta? Start replacing the regular white pastas with either wheat OR better yet, use the Smart Taste brand (personally this brand tastes better than the wheat ones!). If you need more ideas, drop me a line and we'll talk about it. The weight I lost? No surgery, no pills. Just good food and exercise (the later is something you're doing already).
Post a Comment