Known as the latest superfood to make headlines, the Acai Berry has been at the center of the biggest superfood scandal the world has ever seen, with the emergence of fake sites shaking buyer confidence. In light of these recent developments, journalist Tina Clough spoke with an online security consultant to find out how to avoid these types of scams.
Regarded as one of the most popular and controversial health supplements in the world, Acai Berry is a small, purple berry that grows primarily in the floodplains and swamps of Central and South America. Praised for being rich in fiber, antioxidants, and fatty acids, the berry has long been hailed by weight loss gurus as a vital tool in the battle against the bulge.
Medical research has also indicated that Acai Berry acts as an appetite suppressant, as well as boosting the immune system and preventing free radicals from destroying your cells and helping your skin look more radiant.
Trying to cash in on the latest fad, many scammers have created sites offering free Acai Berry trials that don’t materialize, hard-to-cancel recurring orders on your credit card, and other scam methods to make money from unsuspecting customers.
Robert Pearce, an online safety expert, said: “First of all, understand that the Acai Berry itself is not the problem, and there are a few small steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of an Acai scam online. Berry”.
Here are some tips of things to keep in mind.
• Make sure the site has a phone number! – give them a call, a good honest company won’t mind if you verify that it’s a legitimate business before placing an order with them.
• Is there an address on the site? – make sure the business address is on the site and that it is a geographic address and not a PO Box address.
• Use an independent review site – Independent review sites use genuine reviews from real people. This will ensure that you know you are shopping on a secure site.
• Google the name of the company or the name of the website: If the site has a bad reputation, it is likely that people have talked about it in the forums.
• A large, reputable company may make a billing mistake or there may be a misunderstanding, but it is always resolved quickly. Small cheating businesses will operate above the law, and it is difficult for the government to keep up with them, which means customer satisfaction is not high on their agenda.
• Be sure to read all the fine print on the site. If the website mentions anything about recurring billing, it’s a scam and if it mentions anything about a free trial, where you have to cancel at a certain time in your billing cycle, it’s a scam.
• Don’t sign up for any free trials – If an offer sounds too good to be true, it often is.
