This scam is world wide. It has now made it to Australia and the advertising market is LIT UP with responses to scam ads.
The scam artists prey on your inability to “see” what you are looking at or understand what you are looking at or reading.
Case in point: I ran across an ad in paltalk that looked like the one below and to the untrained eye would look like a breaking news report that exposes some dark secret about acai berry that doesn’t do what it’s claimed to do. So you click on the ad and your browser opens to a web page for the Daily Health Alerts news page which looks very official including what looks like a news reporter in a professional looking snapshot with a caption. The web page is even designed to show today’s date, plug in some user comments with todays date and a day or two earlier, and plug in an expiration date of today plus 1 day to establish a sense of urgency.
It is safe to open the page from the link I provided above and you can look through it as I explain its parts here. First thing that alerts you to a scam is the professional looking photo of a woman with a caption that causes you to think she is a real reporter or journalist for a news company, until you click on her photo which takes you to a web advertisement page for the acai berry.
There is no official company called the Australian Health Inquirer even though a logo is posted top left. You will also notice that the Fox News Special Report at the right sidebar has no video or image or working link, because there isn’t really one.
Second point, the headlines suggests that something has been uncovered and after reading the article you discover that nothing diabolical was uncovered after all and that the opposite is true. The article causes you to believe that the reporter was duped by doing her own test of the product and proved to herself that the product actually works, like a miracle.
Then we come to point #3 at the bottom where the user comments would normally be. We find that there are 10 out of 177 comments showing, BUT WAIT! there are only 9 comments showing, not 10 and the last comment has todays date on it. WOW, I JUST missed being able to post a comment, but the comments are “closed due to spam activity” and you are left with nothing to do but read the 9 (not 10) comments that appear to be real from today and the previous day.
These comments talk about “going to”, “about to” “planning to” try the product, and some even say they did try it at exorbitant fees to help you, the reader, feel like you are special by getting the chance to take a free trial offer which by the way, EXPIRES tomorrow! This type of urgency is seared into your mind to make a better selling ad.
Now the truth:
Amazingly enough if you visit the root web address of http://www.dailyhealthalerts.com you find that it is NOT a website with daily health alerts at all. In fact it is a base for the different fake ad web pages to be hosted. There are many other websites on the web just like this mentioning a single mother of two who lost an amazing 42lbs in 3 weeks, or some professional single mother with no time to exercise who lost 37 lbs. in 4 weeks, etc., infinitum.
It’s a real shame that Oprah had an entire show on the effects of acai berry and literally HELPED the scammers sell more product that does nothing more than simple red wine and exercise. Sadly, Oprah is responsible for helping a LOT of scammers. Don’t become a victim.
I don’t normally write posts to my blog about chain letters or junk mail in my email, but this particular time, I do feel it is pertinent to the season and to my need to prevent a vast number of people wasting their time on a heartfelt, good intention.
The chain letter in question is the one going around about sending a card or letter to “A Recovering American Soldier” at the Walter Reed Medical Center in hopes that it will bring good cheer and warm feelings to a soldier at the center. The email looks something like this:
A Great Idea!!!
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
If you approve of the idea, please pass it on to your e-mail list.
While no one can fault the sentiment behind the suggestion (not only to remember the less fortunate during the holiday season but to make a special effort to reach out to those who have been wounded in the service of their country), the plan falters on one central reality in these times of heightened security, mail from strangers to unnamed soldiers must for everyone’s safety be discarded unopened.
The U.S. Postal Service will not accept mail addressed to “Any Soldier,” “Any Wounded Soldier,” or “A/Any Recovering American Soldier.”
Such offerings are either returned to sender (if a return address has been provided) or donated to charities (if no address for the sender is found). Similarly, military hospitals will not accept letters, cards, or packages addressed in such manner because if it did, it could be providing a conduit for those who might do harm to armed services members. Such beneficences, no matter how kindly meant, are not permitted to reach the soldiers they were intended for.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials echoed this information in a statement regarding the proposed plan to send cards to unnamed soldiers in its care:
Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials want to remind those individuals who want to show their appreciation through mail to include packages and letters, addressed to
“Any Wounded Soldier” that Walter Reed will not be accepting these packages in support of the decision by then Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Transportation Policy in 2001. This decision was made to ensure the safety and well being of patients and staff at medical centers throughout the Department of Defense.
In addition, the U.S. Postal Service is no longer accepting “Any Service Member” or “Any Wounded Service Member” letters or packages. Mail to “Any Service Member”
that is deposited into a collection box will not be delivered.
Instead of sending an “Any Wounded Soldier” letter or package to Walter Reed, please consider making a donation to one of the more than 300 nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping our troops and their families listed on the
“America Supports You” website, www.americasupportsyou.mil
Other organizations that offer means of showing your support for our troops or assist wounded service members and their families include:
For individuals without computer access, your local military installation, the local National Guard or military reserve unit in your area may offer the best alternative
to show your support to our returning troops and their families. Walter Reed Army Medical Center will continue to receive process and deliver all mail that is addressed
to a specific individual.
As Walter Reed continues to enhance the medical care and processes for our returning service members, it must also must keep our patients and staff members safe while
following Department of Defense policy. The outpouring of encouragement from the general public, corporate America and civic groups throughout the past year has been
incredible. Our Warriors in Transition are amazed at the thanks and support they receive from their countrymen.
Although the Walter Reed Army Medical Center is not accepting holiday cards for recovering soldiers, the American Red Cross has said that small gifts may be sent to patients in that facility through them:
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center is ONLY accepting phone cards, CDs, individual small packets of candy, things like that; which they will distribute among the
soldiers (as they have a lot of in and out patients). They are not accepting Holiday Cards, as they don’t have the human resources to distribute them.
You may send your packages to:
American Red Cross
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20307-5000
It’s hard to believe that grown adults could not recognize a seriously wrong situation, let alone adults that were trusted enough to be hired as an assistant manager of a restaurant. Good judgment out the window. Morals, out the window. Intelligence, zero.
April 9th, 2004 – Mt Washington, Kentucky
Asst. Manager Donna Jean Summers [51] gets a call from an unidentified caller telling her that an employee, Louise Ogborn [18], is being accused of stealing a purse. The “caller” tells Donna Jean Summers that he is a police officer. Without any proof of any kind who the person is on the other end of the phone, Donna Jean Summers begins to do everything the caller asks of her. As Donna is instructed by “caller”, she tells Louise she is to be searched, then strip searched or be taken to the police.
After watching this video (originally airing on ABC News Now and edited by Opie and Anthony) you may have about 100 questions popping into your head about the entire incident. Before we get into some of them, the following are the facts as they are today:
Louise Ogborn sued McDonalds for $200 million and is awarded $6.1 million.
Donna Jean Summers was fired and plead guilty to wrongful imprisonment and given 1 year probation.
Donna Jean Summers sues McDonalds for $50 million and is awarded $1 million by the jury.
Walter Nix Jr[42] is arrested and convicted for his part in this crime and other related crimes.
David Stewart[38] a prison guard in Panama City, Florida is arrested and acquitted of being the culprit in this crime. (other charges pending in other similar cases) [special note, all calls of this nature to fast food restaurants have stopped since Stewart’s arrest]
McDonalds did send warnings to their stores about prank phone calls two weeks prior to this incident (confirmed).
Now to the questions that came to mind while watching this. A store manager arbitrarily follows the instructions of an unidentified caller to perform police work knowing full well she is not qualified to perform police work, such as a strip search, let alone any kind of search of another person without a warrant. Not even reasonable suspicion will authorize Donna Jean Summers since she is not a law enforcement officer or even remotely trained as one. Donna Jean Summers illegally detains a subordinate, an employee under her care, and removes her victim (Louise Ogborn) of all possible defenses and means to defend herself and imprisons Louise using an effective means that prison guards employ to reduce the number of attempts to escape custody. A psychological ploy that reaches deep into the human psyche is the embarrassment and humiliation of being in public naked/nude and challenging authority. On an 18 year old female, this would be especially effective in keeping her prisoner without any effort. Donna Jean Summers, being an adult female, should have recognized the helplessness of this feeling immediately.
Donna Jean Summers took Louise’ car keys, cell phone and clothes, effectively imprisoning Louise in her office. Was Donna Jean Summers under a spell? Was she drugged? Was she being commanded to perform these acts with a gun held to her head? Why didn’t Donna Jean Summers just ask the “caller” to come to the store and do this himself, if he was truly a law enforcement officer, since the police station was only 5 minutes down the road from that particular McDonalds.
Donna Jean Summers was then instructed to bring her boyfriend/fiancé (Walter Nix Jr.) to the restaurant and perform guard duty. The second unqualified person to perform police work and Donna Jean Summers still doesn’t question anything that she is doing at the command of an “unknown” person on a phone. Keep in mind, this all transpired over the course of approximately 3 hours. Jason Bradley, 27, a cook who Donna Jean Summers at one point called in to watch Ogborn, refused to go along with the caller’s instructions to remove her apron and describe her.
While Louise was held prisoner against her will in a McDonalds store office, stripped of her defenses, stripped of her dignity, the 42 year old Walter Nix Jr (an adult) comes to take over by the “caller’s” request. Why would a 42 year old male, upon witnessing the situation, not immediately question this activity or the authenticity of the caller? We now know why and we now see the true colors of Donna Jean Summers and her judgment of those she “trusts.” What law enforcement authority would command one person to perform sexual acts on another? What idiot would follow such an order?
While Walter Nix Jr is enjoying the commands of his new boss “the caller”, Donna Jean Summers is more interested in keeping her subordinates out of the area of the office by attending to what must have been an “onslaught” of customers that were more important than the seriousness of the supposed situation in the office. If Donna Jean Summers had any true conviction that she was dealing with a real officer on the phone, and believed in her heart that this situation was legitimate and real, why wasn’t she at the side of her subordinate the entire time tending to this supposed more important issue, rather than feeding hungry people, which she had employees for? Donna Jean Summers enters the office at one point and ignoring that Louise is naked walks right past her to fiddle with the computer and looks for gift certificates at which point Walter Nix Jr then tosses Louise the apron to cover herself. Donna Jean Summers had abandoned a defenseless, helpless 18 year old female under her care [who Donna Jean Summers had personally rendered helpless and defenseless] to two adult male strangers, one with physical contact and the other on a phone giving commands. Donna Jean Summers was then shocked and surprised that anything “wrong” was going on even when she walked in on a fully nude Louise at one point.
Some time later, one Thomas Simms [58] was asked into the office and spoke with the “caller” to which he also refused to comply with a stranger on the phone. Donna Jean Summers was shocked and surprised to hear he was asked to remove Louise’ apron as well. Still Donna Jean Summers found nothing wrong with this entire incident, found no reason to stop it and never questioned the morality or violation of a subordinate Donna Jean Summers was responsible for or that persons rights and freedoms, including due process. Donna Jean Summers was in fact a willing participant.
Eventually other managers arrive on the scene (apparently contacted by Donna Jean Summers herself) and the real police were called to the scene who arrive in, you guessed it, 5 minutes.
McDonalds claims they sent warnings about phone pranks and hoaxes to all stores via voice/email two weeks prior to this particular event. This has been confirmed, however, whoever was the first to see this voice/email, somehow discarded it and “forgot” to tell the other managers or employees of this warning. Lisa Siddons, the manager there, said in her deposition that it didn’t mention strip-searches (see special note at the bottom). Apparently it was more important to get the word out that the McRib was back or that happy meals have a better prize in them.
If you look at just how bizarre this incident is in relation to Donna Jean Summers participation and her fiancé’s participation and how they both willingly believed the “caller” was law enforcement, but yet Walter Nix Jr had no problem with an officer telling him to command an 18 year old girl to perform sexual acts with him, and Donna Jean Summer had no problem strip searching one of her own subordinates without question or cause or a flicker of skepticism. Maybe the whole idea of Donna Jean Summers being commanded by a stranger to perform sexually exciting things to an 18 year old female turned Donna Jean Summers on. Maybe it turned on Donna Jean Summers AND her fiancé to have a stranger on the phone command them both to perform sexual acts with an 18 year old female. Maybe it was their secret fantasy to spike their own relationship, but it had to be with someone at least 18 but not old enough to fight back. Wait, that can’t be. There aren’t any people in this world that are that sick and demented, and there is no way that Donna Jean Summers and Walter Nix Jr could ever have been in league with or in partnership with this mysterious “caller” and set this whole thing up so that Walter Nix Jr would be readily available at a moments notice and that it would only be a matter of time before Donna Jean Summers called for some extra help at the end of a particular shift of a person that had already expressed her willingness to help out whenever she could for the extra spending money. Naw………too ridiculous……..or……….is it?
Special Note – McDonald’s employee manual clearly notes its policy against strip-searches. It also notes that no non-employee of McDonalds will be allowed into the restaurant offices.
Yes. The cost of postage is offset with the help of relevant, targeted, unobtrusive advertisements, which will appear on the back of your Gmail Paper prints in red, bold, 36 pt Helvetica. No pop-ups, no flashy animations—these are physically impossible in the paper medium.
How about attachments?
All part of the deal. Photo attachments are printed on high-quality, glossy photo paper, and secured to your Gmail Paper with a paper clip. MP3 and WAV files will not be printed. We recommend maintaining copies of your non-paper Gmail in these cases.
Is there a limit?
You can make us print one, one thousand, or one hundred thousand of your emails. It’s whatever seems reasonable to you.
But what about the environment?
Not a problem. Gmail Paper is made out of 96% post-consumer organic soybean sputum, and thus, actually helps the environment. For every Gmail Paper we produce, the environment gets incrementally healthier.
Beta User Testimonials
“Gmail Paper is a scrapbooker’s dream. I paper archive all of my son’s emails, cut them out in creative shapes, and paste them in my binders.”
Anna-Christina D., Lifecoach
“I’ve always felt uneasy about the whole internet thing. With the help of Gmail Paper, now I’m taking matters back into my own hands, literally.”
Kevin S., CEO AdventaStar Inc.
“Now that I have Gmail Paper, I understand the difference between labels and folders. I had one message with two labels, but when I tried to stick the paper version into two filing cabinets at the same time, it just wouldn’t go.”
Mayumi M., Associate
“It’s paper, plain and easy. I sometimes find myself wondering: what will Google think of next? Cardboard?”
I am soooooooo pissed off at what e-mail has become today.
Back in the beginning (and yes I was there first hand) e-mail was a great way to send a letter to a friend or family or even a business associate instead of using a stamp and snail mail that took days in transit. It saved a tree, it saved stamps, and you didn’t have to taste that terrible glue from licking a stamp or the envelope.
The words “I love you” or “I miss you”, the terms of endearment, and even just a letter getting you up to date on whats happening back home, got to us in “an instant” instead of 3 days. Letting friends know the party was on, what day and time it was, or that it had been bumped up a day or two or moved to another location. Maybe it was a letter to a sweetheart stating you had just won the lottery and were on your way to her with a “VERY IMPORTANT” question, and a wink [that looked like this back then 😉 ]
No longer do those days exist.
In the last year, I have gotten several notices to upgrade some software I purchased over the years, a TON of junk mail from advertisers and spammers, a few technical updates that I subscribe to, and some e-cards on one of the 6 national holidays.
I can stand all of the above mentioned to a surprisingly decent degree, but what I can NOT stand, is the amount of mundane, repeated, dull, unoriginal, urban legend, hoax emails, chain mails, proof of friendship or proof of love or proof of Christianity and all the other kinds of emails that come in the form of “FWD:…” or “FWD:FWD:…” or “FWD:FWD:FWD:…” infinitum.
The really sad thing is, if I got ONE email from someone I knew that was in the form of a letter, or that person were speaking directly to me, asking how I was, what I have been up to, etc, in the past year…I would never have made this post. The very act of someone speaking to me directly in an email would make ALL of the above stated rant, go away in a flash of an “instant” and would have preempted my writing this post at all.
No one talks to anyone in email anymore. It is literally trillions and trillions of bytes of useless data clogging the internet and chewing up bandwidth and is getting worse on a galactic scale.
This is where the phrase truly applies…”STOP THE INSANITY!!!”
Recently an email started going around proclaiming to be written by an Australian Dentist, in Australia. Though this is false and there was some ad lib in the email version, below is the original version written by an American. The point is still the same, and I wish I had written it myself, but it speaks volumes and rings true like the shot heard ’round the world. [Editorial note, the topic of the email was “To kill an American”]
What Is An American?
A primer.By Peter Ferrara, an associate professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law.
September 25, 2001 9:20 a.m.
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper there an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So I just thought I would write to let them know what an American is, so they would know when they found one.An American is English…or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan.An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them choose.An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God-given right of each man and woman to the pursuit of happiness.
An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.
An American does not have to obey the mad ravings of ignorant, ungodly cruel, old men. American men will not be fooled into giving up their lives to kill innocent people, so that these foolish old men may hold on to power. American women are free to show their beautiful faces to the world, as each of them choose.
An American is free to criticize his government’s officials when they are wrong, in his or her own opinion. Then he is free to replace them, by majority vote.
Americans welcome people from all lands, all cultures, all religions, because they are not afraid. They are not afraid that their history, their religion, their beliefs, will be overrun, or forgotten. That is because they know they are free to hold to their religion, their beliefs, their history, as each of them choose.
And just as Americans welcome all, they enjoy the best that everyone has to bring, from all over the world. The best science, the best technology, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes.
Americans welcome the best, but they also welcome the least. The nation symbol of America welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed.
These in fact are the people who built America. Many of them were working in the twin towers on the morning of September 11, earning a better life for their families.
So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo and Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world.
But in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.
So look around you. You may find more Americans in your land than you thought were there. One day they will rise up and overthrow the old, ignorant, tired tyrants that trouble too many lands. Then those lands too will join the community of free and prosperous nations.
untrained eye would look like a breaking news report that exposes some dark secret about acai berry that doesn’t do what it’s claimed to do. So you click on the ad and your browser opens to a web page for the Daily Health Alerts news page which looks very official including what looks like a news reporter in a professional looking snapshot with a caption. The web page is even designed to show today’s date, plug in some user comments with todays date and a day or two earlier, and plug in an expiration date of today plus 1 day to establish a sense of urgency.
the last comment has todays date on it. WOW, I JUST missed being able to post a comment, but the comments are “closed due to spam activity” and you are left with nothing to do but read the 9 (not 10) comments that appear to be real from today and the previous day.
I don’t normally write posts to my blog about chain letters or junk mail in my email, but this particular time, I do feel it is pertinent to the season and to my need to prevent a vast number of people wasting their time on a heartfelt, good intention.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center officials want to remind those individuals who want to show their appreciation through mail to include packages and letters, addressed to
Rocket
The Chawed Rosin
The Dragon Tail 