We were thrilled to report here
last week about the recent action taken by the credit card company Visa to shutdown the accounts of about 100 fly by night companies that were processing the charges for Acai Berry Scams.

Research finds scammers still operating

We are still hopeful that these and other actions will put an end to these vultures. Yes, there has been a decrease in the number of companies and the flood of marketing of these scams, but for now it appears that those being shut down are quickly being replaced by other companies. Or often, the same companies under different names. We did some research and found that the affiliate networks that promote the Free Trial Offers of Acai to websites and email marketers are already replacing the brands of Acai.

See for yourself

So, the brand names are changing, but the scummy marketing techniques are the same. You can verify this yourself by simply typing acai berry free trial into google.com or bing.com. The paid ads pushing the scams are still there at the right side, and sometimes at the very top.

What can you do to stop them?

Before making a purchase or signing up for a “free trial”, consumers should check the company out with on the BBB Web site to see if it has racked up complaints. Consumers who’ve been caught up in the scams should
file complaints with the FTC online or by phone at 1-877-FTC-HELP.
You might also want to know that every time you click on one of the scammers paid ads at the far right of the google search results, it costs the scammers between 50c and $1. Happy clicking!

Great news! Visa has announced that it has shut down the accounts of over 100 merchants who were tricking customers into signing up for expensive ‘forced continuity’ sales. These scammers were selling acai and other products over the Internet. This is great news for a number of reasons, but mainly the hope is that people will begin to trust the few legitimate acai sellers on the web.

Chronic Complaints Of Scams

Visa’s decision was based, says William Sheedy, a Visa group president, on the number of ‘chronic complaints’ from a vast number of consumers; the merchants were quietly shutdown over the summer.

The culture of scams that grew up around acai berry sales was helped in no small way by the huge media coverage it was getting. Just a few years ago many people had not even heard of acai: now it is a household name, and not always for the right reasons. Oprah Winfrey and Rachel Ray are just two of the celebrities that have apparently endorsed (whether explicitly or not) acai products, and both have had to get lawyers involved when they felt dubious marketing practices using their names and likenesses had gone too far. Visa joins these celebrities, the BBB, the FTC and a number of state lawmakers in the fight against this underworld.

Fake it… Lie… Cheat… Scam

Some of the tactics used by the scammers is to include fake testimonials from celebrities or a ‘local person’ (who isn’t actually local at all) which endorse the product. The sites on which the products are sold will also include information about the benefits of acai which are unverifiable or just plain lies. Most of these tactics are used to tempt the consumer into signing up for a “free trial offer” of the acai product. This free trial is offered at a very low price – often just shipping and handling – which the customer must pay be credit card.

Of course, once the rogue company has the credit card details they will not let go: charges are pushed through on a monthly basis, and are for sums reaching sometimes into the hundreds. These charges are made ostensibly because the customer has not canceled the ’subscription’ (which they usually didn’t know about in the first place) Canceling the charges is always difficult and usually impossible.

It’s impossible to track how many people have been caught up in the scams or how many companies are involved. Negative option marketing is not illegal. It’s the hidden manner some companies use to get people to agree to the charges that is the problem. “Those cost disclosures have to be upfront and prominent,” Greisman said.

What to do if you are interested in acai

Before making a purchase, consumers should check the company out with on the BBB Web site, www.bbb.org, to see if it has racked up complaints. Consumers who’ve been caught up in the scams should file complaints with the FTC online at ftc.gov or by phone at 1-877-FTC-HELP.

This Cloud’s Silver Lining

There are legitimate businesses online that sell acai, and acai is a good choice of health product. Unfortunately customers are more likely to hear of – and to remember – the bad apples rather than the real acai sellers. Hopefully this decision by Visa will begin to change all that.