SCAM ALERT: Forget About The Super Memory Formula Program

You may come across the Super Memory Formula scheme promising a brain boosting supplement that will improve your memory and enhance your mental capabilities.   But it goes even further than that.  It claims to prevent Alzheimers and dementia, a dubious claim if there ever was one.   It refers to a compound called TC-2153, which was allegedly created by a doctor referred to as “Mr. Gerstein”  that will create results in as few as 10 days.   In reality, this scheme is a scam.

Here’s the truth that these brain supplement scammers doesn’t want you to know:  Brain supplements don’t work. That’s right. Repeated scientific studies have demonstrated that nutritional supplements just don’t deliver.  Most recently, a study funded by AARP found that even though antioxidants in food is beneficial, antioxidants in pill form simply don’t offer the same benefits.  In fact, a number of scientific studies have been unable to show that antioxidants given in pill form improve or protect memory from declining with age or brain disease.

So what exactly is Super Memory Formula offering?

Super Memory Formula is not so much a nutritional supplement as a sophisticated sales pitch.  The $69 pills that they are offering are made up of the following ingredients:

So what are these ingredients?   It is hardly TC-2153.  In fact, it is six supplements that can be found in countless supplement offerings on reputable websites like Vitacost.  Except, they are far cheaper than $69 for 120 capsules.    Moreover, while all of these ingredients sound fancy, they are found in most common foods, including cereals, meats, seeds and mushrooms.   If you eat well, you’ll likely get larger doses of these six ingredients than if you were to gulp down their overpriced pills.

Here’s the thing about brain drugs — they are bogus.  So much so that the Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer warning in 2016 urging consumers to avoid buying any “brain boosters” advertised on the Internet.   As described by AARP: “The swindlers claim that the pills will lead to an increase in concentration and memory recall, but there is no evidence to support these claims, according to the FTC. These web pages have no affiliation with the legitimate news sites they mimic, nor are the fake articles true — the scammers are simply conning consumers into buying their product.”

Like so many of the “brain boosting” products peddled on the Internet, you are treated to slick videos, slicker webpages full of scientific sounding terms and, in many cases, a medical doctor who is recommending the product.   But most of these kinds of products are rip-offs and infoscams that have infected the Web over the last three years.

What is TC-2153 and why is it important?

It’s not important, yet.  Back in 2014, some researchers at Yale indicated that this drug compound showed promise for treating Alzheimers.  However, nothing has been published about this compound since 2016.  It either never panned out or the findings couldn’t be replicated.   From the best that we can tell, it faded into obscurity.   However, the Super Memory Formula marketers decided to seize upon this obscure scientific kerfuffle and make it a super drug.   They claim that some doctor named “Mr. Gerstein” somehow replicated this drug.   Who is Mr. Gerstein and what were his qualifications?   You’ll never know because he likely doesn’t exist.   (Our efforts to find a brain doctor named Gerstein turned up a psychiatrist in Plainview, NY who graduated from Russia State Medical University).

As for Michael J. Duckett, he’s a motivational speaker, life coach and self-described “Renaissance man”.   He claims to be a social scientist and offers no medical credentials at his own website.  In short, there’s no evidence that this Doctor is a Medical Doctor.   We checked out his Facebook page and there’s no mention of any medical training at all.

 

Why Is Super Memory Formula a Scam?

If Super Memory Formula‘s claim looks familiar, it probably is — it is almost identical to the questionable other brain health offerings, like Vito Brain, also hawked on the Internet — and it was probably conjured up by the same scammers.    They almost all charge the mysterious $70-100 per month.  In fact, SMF is a carbon-copy of the now-infamous Neuro Blast scheme.  And like BrainPlus IQ and Bio-Brain, these products are all hype and lies, with no record of effectiveness.  In fact, they are just trying to get you to sign-up so they can upsell you even more placebo supplements:

Its no surprise that the Food and Drug Administration recently cracked down on this brain-supplement market, sending warning letters or advisories to 17 companies selling about 60 supplements.   The agency reiterated that current science does not support any marketing claim that food supplements can reverse any type of known dementia or cognitive impairments.   Over the past five years, the agency has taken action against 40 other products making Alzheimer’s claims.

Beware of Fake Reviews

Is it a scam?   Is it a rip-off?  Does it work?   You’ll never find out, largely because of an increasingly pernicious Internet industry that uses fake product review sites to hide customer reactions.

We call these sites infoscammers because they mostly follow the same template:   Product Description, Examination Record,  Review or Analysis, Site Preview, Download button,  Pros and Disadvantages and Conclusion.   Many of them also have a Leave Page Pop-Up that makes it difficult to return to your Google search.   They are hawked by affiliate websites that come by a whole array of names, such as “Daily Scam Reviews“, “Review Tools” “Scam Review Today“, “ScamX”, “Queen’s Reviews” and other such sounding websites.  The vast majority of them are  little more than automated shills for these scam sites, designed to conceal real scam reports.   They are authored by professional fake review writing services or “reputation management” companies. While they are all hawking different “products”, the share many common sales tactics:

  1.   They have a link or embedded video of the product/service offer.  If the outgoing link on the review product includes an affiliate tracking code, then you can be sure they are being compensated by the link.
  2.   They don’t have a link describing the qualifications of the “reviewer”.
  3.   Many of them don’t have a “Contact Us” menu or reveal information about the reviewing organization itself.
  4.   The quality of the writing is odd — either bad translations or boilerplate sounding sentences.
  5.   The information at the web site is limited to reviews.    If the entire site is nothing seemingly impartial reviews, then the author has no expectation of having visitors return, and consequently, no risk of losing regular visitors.
  6. They make some urgent Requirement for Paying a Fee or Payment. If the deal requires an advance fee or some kind of urgent response or cash payment. If you feel any pressure to make a decision, don’t do it. Responsible financial advisors do not rush prospective clients into hasty, and regrettable, decisions.  They should welcome your scrutiny.   In fact, use the Internet to do a search for any transactions in which they’ve been involved and see what others say.

How To Actually Boost Your Brain For Free

Perhaps most importantly, you don’t have to spend any money at all. There is an abundance of free or low-cost brain health information on the Internet.    Amazon offers a number of ebooks that cost nothing and provide the kinds of well-established brain exercises that can help.  And very reputable medical institutions such as Harvard and the Mayo Clinic offer free and documented information.   Harvard, in particular, warns that excess weight,poor eating habits and lack of exercise are the major factors linked to brain disease.  The Mayo Clinic suggests use of brain exercises, such as those offered by a number of legitimate Internet companies who offer FREE interactive brain exercises: Neuronation,  Mind GamesBrain Matrix, as well as low-cost offerings by BrainHQ and Rosetta Stone.

As importantly,recent science suggests that some brain deterioration can be attenuated and, perhaps, reversed for far less than $50 per month. But the key steps needed are eliminating all simple carbohydrates from your diet, increasing consumption of fruit, vegetables and non-farmed fish, incorporation of yoga and meditation and daily supplements including vitamin D3, fish oil, coenzyme Q10, melatonin and for women to resume hormone therapy, if they had ended it.

While the supplement part of this recommendation is somewhat controversial, the lifestyle changes are not; they promote healthfulness, which is an essential element in keeping the brain healthy. There is a plethora of free and peer-reviewed analysis, like this, on the web and new studies that are revealing more light into the causes and treatment of brain deterioration.

One additional warning:  once you give them your money, you’ll be tagged as “meat”.  Once they know that you’ll fall for this pitch, the same marketers will be coming back to you over and over and over for other such pitches.  So understand that if you pay these marketers anything….let alone $69…..they’ll continue to hound you with more slick schemes designed to prey on your fears and concerns.  Our advice: don’t open your door or wallet to them.

1 thought on “SCAM ALERT: Forget About The Super Memory Formula Program”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.