THIS IS REALLY DISTURBING. ACTUALLY, FOLKS ARE GETTING
SCAMMED OUT OF MONEY.
>> GOOD MORNING, SAVANNAH.
IT SEEMS LIKE THESE ADs AND
WEBSITES ARE EVERYWHERE THESE
DAYS.
DAYS. THEY CATCH YOUR ATTENTION WITH A
BOLD HEADLINE ABOUT YOUR
FAVORITE CELEBRITY USING STAR
POWER TO TRICK YOU INTO GETTING
A FREE TRIAL OF THE PRODUCT THEY
SUPPORT.
SUPPORT. THOSE HEADLINES ARE COMPLETELY
FAKE, AND THOSE PRODUCTS NEVER
REALLY ARE FREE.
HOW ARE THESE COMPANIES SELLING
FREE TRIALS, AND HOW ARE THEY
GETTING AWAY WITH IT?
THIS MORNING WE’RE ABOUT TO SHOW
YOU.
YOU. THE WEBSITE SEEMS SO REAL.
THEIR ADs CLICK WORTHY.
THEY CAN BE EASY TO FALL FOR.
BOGUS HEADLINES AND ADs SHOWING
UP ON POPULAR SITES LIKE
FACEBOOK USING FAKE CELEBRITY
ENDORSEMENTS TO SELL YOU ON FREE
TRIAL OFFERS OF SKIN CARE
PRODUCTS OR WEIGHT LOSS
SUPPLEMENTS.
SUPPLEMENTS. THEY SAY YOU ONLY PAY FOR
SHIPPING BUT SLAM YOU WITH THE
TOTAL COST IF YOU DON’T RETURN
THE PRODUCTS.
THE PRODUCTS. FROM ELLEN DEGENERES TO JOANNA
GAINES THESE CELEBS HAVE BEEN
USED TO ADVERTISE THESE
PRODUCTS.
PRODUCTS. IT EVEN HAPPENED TO "TODAY" SHOW
CO-ANCHOR SAVANNAH GUTHRIE.
>> PEOPLE THAT I KNOW REALLY
WELL WOULD TEXT AND SAY, HEY, I
HEARD ABOUT YOUR NEW CAREER
MOVE, AND WHEN I SAW THE
ARTICLES, I COULD UNDERSTAND WHY
PEOPLE BELIEVED IT BECAUSE IT
LOOKS REALLY REAL.
>> SAVANNAH EVEN TWEETING, YES,
THIS IS NOT TRUE.
IT’S A SCAM.
I SAW ONE FAN DARLENE SMITH
REPLYING I WAS SUCKERED IN, AND
I’M TRYING TO GET MY MONEY BACK.
WE REACHED OUT TO FIND WHAT MADE
HER CLICK.
HER CLICK. >> I’M SUCH AN AVID FAN OF HERS,
AND I WATCH THE "TODAY" SHOW
EVERY DAY.
EVERY DAY. >> AND THAT’S HOW THEY HOOKED
YOU IN?
YOU IN? >> THAT’S HOW THEY HOOKED ME IN.
>> THE ACTUAL PAGES WITH THOSE
FAKE HEADLINES ARE STILL UP EVEN
THOUGH THE LINKS AND SITES DON’T
WORK.
WORK. >> EVEN IF A LINK NO LONGER
WORKS, THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT
THE SAME CLAIMS ARE NOT BEING
MADE FOR THE PRODUCT SOMEWHERE
ELSE.
ELSE. >> LET’S BREAK THAT DOWN.
THE COMPANIES THAT SELL THESE
PRODUCTS HIRE AFFILIATES TO
DESIGN ADs AND CREATE WEBSITES.
WHEN YOU CLICK ON AN AD THE
AFFILIATE GETS A COMMISSION.
SOME CONSUMERS HAVE CAUGHT ON.
THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU SAYS
IT’S RECEIVED 37,000 COMPLAINTS
AND REPORTS ABOUT FREE TRIALS IN
THE LAST THREE YEARS.
HOW DO YOU TRACK THESE COMPANIES
DOUGH
DOUGH DOWN?
DOWN? THEY DON’T MAKE IT EASY.
>> WE’RE TRYING TO REACH THE
OWNER OF A COMPANY THAT MAKES A
PRODUCT LIVADERMA, DO YOU KNOW
ANYTHING ABOUT THAT?
OKAY.
OKAY. SO YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH
SKIN CARE.
SKIN CARE. I TRIED A DIFFERENT NUMBER.
>> IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE REACHED
THIS RECORDING IN ERROR, PLEASE
CHECK THE NUMBER AND TRY YOUR
CALL AGAIN.
CALL AGAIN. >> ANOTHER DEAD END.
WE SWITCH TO A TOLL FREE
CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER.
>> I WAS CALLING ABOUT SOME
COMPLAINTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
PRODUCT LIVADERMA, I WAS HOPING
TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER THERE.
>> SHE PUTS ME ON HOLD, TEN
MINUTES UNTIL FINALLY.
THERE’S NO MANAGER, OKAY.
WE’RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY
THERE ARE FAKE ADVERTISEMENTS
SELLING YOUR PRODUCT UNDER THE
NAMES OF SEVERAL RECOGNIZABLE
CELEBRITIES.
CELEBRITIES. SO YOU’RE A CUSTOMER SERVICE
AGENT, AND YOU’RE NOT IN A
POSITION TO ANSWER THAT BECAUSE
YOU WERE NOT AWARE OF THAT.
>> I ASKED HER SOMETHING SHE
MIGHT KNOW.
MIGHT KNOW. >> IS THERE A TIME LIMIT FOR
CUSTOMERS TO USE THEIR FREE
TRIAL.
TRIAL. THEY GET A 14-DAY PERIOD TO TRY
THE PRODUCT.
THE PRODUCT. WHERE IS THAT STATED?
IT’S ON THE WEBSITE?
>> SHE WOULDN’T GIVE ME THE
WEBSITE.
WEBSITE. AFTER SEARCHING FOR OURSELVES,
WE FOUND IT BURIED ON A
DIFFERENT PAGE IN THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS, NOT EASY TO FIND.
NEITHER OF THE COMPANY ADDRESSES
THE BB SAYS THESE WEBSITES
USUALLY DON’T LIST THEM AND THE
ONLY ADDRESS THEY MIGHT GET IS A
P.O. BOX OR A RETURN ADDRESS ON
THE PACKAGE.
THE PACKAGE. WE CHECKED OUT THIS ONE IN
FLORIDA.
FLORIDA. THE BBB SAYS IT’S BEEN LINKED TO
ANOTHER PRODUCT USING SAVANNAH’S
NAME.
NAME. WE ASKED IF THEY KNEW ANYTHING
ABOUT THESE HEADLINES.
>> WE DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO
WITH THE CLIENT’S MARKETING OR
HOW THEY DO THE BUSINESS.
ALL WE DO IS GET ORDERS AND SHIP
OUT FOR THEM.
>> IF YOU SEE THESE ADs OR
HEADLINES IT’S UP TO YOU.
>> THAT CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT
GAVE ME AN E-MAIL ADDRESS OVER
THE PHONE.
THE PHONE. WE REACHED OUT BUT IT BOUNCED
BACK.
BACK. WE REACHED OUT TO FACEBOOK TO
SEE WHY THESE ADs AND HEADLINES
POP UP ON THEIR SITE.
THE COMPANY TOLD US THEY’RE
MISLEADING AND SPAMMY.
THEY REMOVED THE ADs ABOUT
SAVANNAH.
SAVANNAH. YOU CAN HELP.
FACEBOOK SAYS YOU CAN REPORT ANY
AD BY CLICKING ON THE THREE DOTS
ON THE TOP RIGHT CORNER.
>> PEOPLE HAVE GREAT INTENTIONS.
THEY THINK, OH, I WANT THAT SKIN
CAROLINE.
CAROLINE. >> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> SO GADI, HOW DO YOU KNOW IF
THIS IS LIKE A SCAM AD?
IS THERE SOMETHING YOU COULD
LOOK FOR?
LOOK FOR? >> THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS
GOOGLE IT.
GOOGLE IT. YOU CAN CHECK OUT THE PRODUCT
NAME ON THE BETTER BUSINESS
BUREAU’S WEBSITE, BBB.ORG AND
SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER
COMPLAINTS.
COMPLAINTS. ALWAYS READ THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS ON THOSE WEBSITES
BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING,
ESPECIALLY IF THEY SAY IT’S
FREE.
FREE. CHECK THE WEBSITE OR THE SOCIAL
MEDIA ACCOUNTS OF THE CELEBRITY
ENDORSING THE PRODUCT.
IF THEY’RE NOT PROMOTING IT ON
THEIR PAGES, CHANCES ARE THEY
DON’T SUPPORT IT, AND SAVANNAH
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU LIKE SOUP AND
THE EAGLES.
THE EAGLES. >> AND MY KIDS, EXACTLY.
IF I WAS GOING TO START A
COMPANY IT WOULD BE LIKE A
TEQUILA COMPANY, QUESO,
SWEATPANTS.
SWEATPANTS. IT’S NOT GOING TO BE SKIN CARE.
>> MY DAD GOT SCAMMED.
THIS SAME THING HAPPENED TO HIM.
I DON’T KNOW WHY BUT HE BOUGHT
WEIGHT LOSS PILLS ENDORSED BY
BLAKE SHELTON, AND HE TOLD ME
ONE DAY TELL YOUR BUDDY BLAKE I
BOUGHT YOUR WEIGHT LOSS PILLS.
BLAKE’S LIKE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT
YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT.
MY POOR FATHER JUST GOT SCAMMED,
AND I WAS LIKE DAD, YOU LOOK
GREAT.
GREAT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. >> I COULD SEE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW.