SCAM ALERT: Online Tinnitus Treachery Exposed
Scattered throughout the Net are Web-based infoscams that overcharge or steal your money for “products” that don’t work or can be found for free at reputable Internet sites. One scam that pops up almost annually involves a cure for tinnitus. This is a condition that relatively easy to diagnose (ringing or buzzing in your ears) but hellishly difficult to cure. Because of the absence of an easy cure, Internet scammers have seized upon this malady for their quick, quack cures. Don’t fall for them.
The most recent tinnitus scams are: Ear Clear Plus, Tonaki Tinnitus Protocol, Tinnitus 911 , Sonus Complete by Greg Peters and Quiet Mind Plus. Each of them offer either some information and/or a supplement that allegedly cures this vexing condition. An analysis that destroys each of these scams is available at ContraHealthScam.com, so we won’t go into depth about these four online scams, other than you want to avoid them. If you suffer from tinnitus, here’s what you really need to know:
Why Tinnitus Is So Hard to Cure
Tinnitus is a remarkably common problem It affects about 1 in 5 people. The complicated part about tinnitus is that it isn’t a disease. In fact, it is a manifestation of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, ear injury or a circulatory system disorder. The Mayo Clinic lists some fourteen different possible causes for tinnitus — so one cure can’t possibly address any more than one of root causes. It is further complicated by the fact that tinnitus is a “subjective condition” that can only be heard by the patient. You need to consult with a neurologist or otolaryngologist and related specialists in order to properly diagnose your condition and proffer appropriate treatment.
The bottom line is that there is NO cure for tinnitus. The U.S. and British Institutes of Health both admit that while Western medicine has found ways to diminish tinnitus there is no cure. That’s why the scammers are attracted to this ailment! And that’s why anytime you see an online ad claiming to cure tinnitus, it’s a scam. Almost every year, a few new scams pop-up: Ear Clear Plus, Quiet Mind Plus, Tinnitus 911, Tonaki Tinnitus Protocol are just a few of the more recent ones. They prey on people desperate to cure and uncurable condition. Currently, the most promising treatment for tinnitus is Cognitive Behavior Therapy. But the scammers won’t touch that one because there’s no money to be made on it.
How To Tell If a Tinnitus Cure Is A Scam
If you come across pretty much any tinnitus cure online, it is likely a scam. Here are some tell-tale signs of tinnitus treachery.
- They use is “affiliate marketing” by which they try to trick you into thinking that other consumers vouch for the product. 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.
- We’ve identified a handful of websites that market many of these scams: Clickbank, ClickSure, and BuyGoods are some of the most prevalent ones. These companies are affiliate-marketing networks for digital products like eBooks, software and membership sites in different categories, handling credit card processing, accounting and payouts for these vendors. BuyGoods currently sells the discredited Tonaki Tinnitus Protocol. Avoid this website and the products it sells at all costs!
- They raise conspiracies. Some “government agency doesn’t want you to know about them”, they most all claim. It may be true, but it’s not for the reason they assert. The government agencies and big corporations aren’t looking to quash their ideas as much as hold them accountable for their unscientific, bogus claims.
- They offer guarantees. Any offer which uses the word “guarantee” or “no-risk” should be viewed somewhat skeptically. Scammers love to use those two words, so when you see or hear those questionable words in an offer, be careful. Often, they don’t honor these guarantees and getting your money back requires significant effort.
The good news is that some large internet companies are starting to crack down on fake review sites. Recently, Amazon filed a lawsuit against several websites that publish paid-for reviews on Amazon. According to Amazon’s suit, the websites promise to write bogus five-star reviews for customers that pay between $19 and $22 per review. They include buyamazonreviews.com and buyazonreviews.com (owned by Jay Gentile). Unfortunately, it’ll take more companies like Amazon to bring such lawsuits. In the meantime, buyer beware of ANY Net-based sales pitch that has uncredentialed, slick video presentations with no independent reviews. It may not be a scam, but it is probably a rip-off because it is overpriced for what it is offering. In this case, there’s lots of good diet information in the marketplace offered at a fraction of the cost of most weight loss schemes. Save your hard-earned money.
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 $40…..they’ll continue to hound you with more slick schemes designed to prey on your fears and concerns. Don’t open your door or wallet to them.
If you aren’t sure whether any offer that you are mulling over is a scam or not, feel free to ask us. Just use this link to contact us and we’ll check it out for you.
In all fairness… BuyGoods honored the money-back guarantee on the Tonaki Tinnitus Protocol. Apparently, I bought the system from an affiliate. When I called to request my money back the lady only offered to refund $10 out of the $27 I paid but I let it go. Some days later, I got an email from BuyGoods asking about my experience with the program. I wrote back explaining the situation not thinking anything good would come out of it. To my surprise, the same lady wrote back apologizing for my experience and told me BuyGoods would be refunding the remaining $17 of my purchase. Sure enough, I checked my credit card account three days later and the $17 had been credited. I wrote back to her and thanked her and BuyGoods for their honesty and integrity. Maybe I got lucky but maybe BuyGoods is a good company that does business the right way.