The Canadian Competition Bureau has launched their Project False Hope initiative to educate online consumers and to combat cancer cure frauds. “The fight against cancer is hard enough, don't let fraud make it harder.â€
What they have done is to set up a mock interactive website (the flash works better than the html) called “Natural Herbal Formula†which sells an imaginary health product. Mouse over the text and pop up bubbles explain how scammers try and hook the desperate and uninformed to buy their products. Some of their tricks include putting in what looks like technical information and references. The bottom line is to check out other credible sources first in order to make a more informed decision. As they say, buyer beware!
Here are some more fake websites:
Fake Websites 2
Canadian Competition Bureau Mocks Up Anatomy of an Online Health Scam
Trend Themes
1. Consumer Education on Scams - Opportunity for businesses to develop educational resources and campaigns to help consumers recognize online scams.
2. Combatting Fraudulent Health Products - Potential for innovative solutions that prevent the sale of fake health products online and protect consumers.
3. Promoting Credible Sources - Disruptive opportunity to create platforms or tools that verify the credibility of online sellers and information sources.
Industry Implications
1. Healthcare - Industry can develop technology solutions to validate and verify the authenticity of health products sold online.
2. E-commerce - Opportunity to create trust-building mechanisms and systems to protect customers from fraudulent sellers.
3. Digital Marketing - Innovative approaches to online advertising and content marketing can counteract the deceptive tactics used by scammers.