Acai Berry Deception Continues with Fictitious Diet Blogs

I have previously written about the perils of purchasing any Acai Berry product online from unknown hucksters making outrageous claims of weight loss. The latest tactic appears to be that of using personalized diet blogs, that tell a type of sob story about how an obese wife and mother supposedly had a revelation about how to lose weight while watching Oprah. These diet blogs are fakes and ought to raise a red flag after you read about the following examples this writer is about to share.

The motive for writing a series of articles on this Acai Berry marketing fraud is that there are now outrageous come-ons for it when reading the sports section of the Topeka Capitol Journal and by checking the daily weather report on the Weather Bug software that runs off the internet. Again, it is worth mentioning that there is no animosity or criticism being leveled against the product or anyone desiring to purchase Acai Berry as a health food drink or as a food supplement. The issue has to do with an egregious marketing fraud being foisted upon an unsuspecting public and preying upon people who consider themselves to be overweight.

First, there was the "diet blog" written by a "Sara Collins," from Wakefield, KS. Web site links for almost all of these fictitious diet blogs are listed at the end of this article as sources. "Sara" claimed to have lost 42 pounds on the combination Acai Berry and Ultra Slim XS diet that she concocted after watching an episode of Oprah. This diet blog was located by logging on to a web site that provided a link. In the previous article written by me entitled, Acai Berry Diet Scam Teams up with Ultra Slim XS, it was mentioned that "Sara Collins" lived only fifteen miles away from me, here in Riley, Kansas. The location of these bloggers is going to be the key to understanding why these diet blogs should alert you.

Next, we have a diet blog from a "Kathy Tanner," from Riley, KS., located by clicking on a Google ad. This diet blog has already been taken off the net, and thus is not referenced below. "Kathy " claims to have lost 51 pounds in two months. The reason "Sara Collins" and "Kathy Tanner " are in quotation marks, is because this writer believes these names are fictitious. Then, there's "Jeanie's Weight Loss blog," featuring "Jeanie Rontero" from Riley, KS., as well. "Jeanie" fits the weight loss profile, as she claims to have "lost 47 pounds," and then in the adjacent picture showing "before-and-after" results" wearing the same clothes, has some sort of attack of conscience and only claims to have lost "42 pounds." In keeping with all the other testimonials, she has "two kids and a wonderful husband." The testimony from "Jeanie" starts to lose a little credibility, however, when she mentions that "Dr. Oz came on the Rachael Ray show," talking about the Acai Berry. The usual pattern was to credit an appearance by Dr. Oz on the Oprah show, so it could be that the cookie-cutter testimonial didn't pay enough attention to detail, or the fraudsters think their victims are so gullible, that it doesn't matter.

And now, we have a "Lorrie Miller," also from Riley, KS., referenced below. How could all four of these testimonials from "satisfied" customers be from people who either live directly in the same town as the writer of this article, or one that lives a mere fifteen miles away? Mere coincidence? Could it be that the peddlers of these Acai Berry pills use some sort of sophistocated tracking of Internet Provider addresses in order to make their testimonials seem closer to "home" in order to persuade people to buy this product? Or do they just make it up and pick out the names of small towns that sound believable. Even though the web sites have been provided, don't count on them being there when you go to click on them, as it appears these marketers of the Acai Berry pills are like moving targets.

It's interesting to note in all of these diet blogs except for "Jeanie's," that "Sara, Kathy, and Lorrie" all make identical comments such as, "I wouldn't say I owe my life to Oprah," when trying to make their "testimonial" sound convincing. "Jeanie," however, says "I wouldn't say I owe my life to Rachel," instead of crediting Oprah, for "turning her life around." Rachael Ray has also stated at her web site, listed below, that she has not endorsed sales of the Acai Berry product and that the use of her picture in connection with it is unauthorized. It's amusing to note also, in an effort to sound so convincing, that "Lorrie" from Riley, KS., even has a "five-year old daughter named Riley." Gee whiz. This "woman " is from Riley, KS., and even has a kid named Riley. How could I not be persuaded by this amazing offer from someone who lives in my neighborhood with a child named after the town?

An interesting comparison of these diet "blogs" reveals that they all credit watching The Oprah Winfrey show as giving them the inspiration for combining Acai Berry with Colon Cleanse, even though Oprah has officially released a statement on her website, listed below, in which she reveals the "truth about Acai, that she has not endorsed any online solicitation of Acai and that attorneys for Harpo were looking into claims that she endorsed Acai products." Other interesting comparisons reveal impossible similarities in weight loss stories. "Kathy Tanner" lost 51 pounds in 2 months, "Katie Wright" lost 45 pounds in under 12 weeks, "Lorrie Miller" lost 45 pounds in 12 weeks, to name examples. All the testimonials come from "working moms with 2 or 3 beautiful children and wonderful husbands."

About the time you think you've heard it all, the Acai Berry diet plan "mutates" into yet another scam. A cursory review of the Acai Berry ingredients doing a Google search will inform you that the Acai Berry itself is a "product of the Amazon rainforest," known by all to exist in Brazil. Now, there's Goji Berries from Tibet, in which the same trio of Oprah Winfrey, Rachael Ray, and Dr. Mehmet Oz are pictured, and make the following claims: "Rachel [sic] Ray promotes the berries; Dr. Oz and Oprah are discussing super foods on Oprah and Goji Berry was one of the foods Dr. Oz said was very important for humans to be consuming." As if those claims aren't outrageous enough, the web site peddling Goji Berry, listed below, states: "Specifically [Dr. Oz and Oprah] they discussed the anti-aging properties and Goji's ability to turn back the hands of time." The absurd statement about the anti-aging properties was made right next to a picture of Oprah and Dr. Oz, and assuming this web site hasn't disappeared before Harpo's attorneys get wind of it, you can view it for yourself.

As a consumer, you need to be aware of the sophistocation of computer programmers who apparently have no conscience when it comes to making outrageous claims and abusing the celebrity status of people like Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Rachael Ray in the name of trying to make a fast buck. There may be nothing wrong with Acai Berry pills or Goji Berry dietary supplements, but if you're going to buy such products, it's best to buy them from a recognized vender such as Amazon.com or a General Nutrition Center store, where you can read the label and see what you're getting before you give out your credit card number and unwittingly enroll yourself in a $60, $70, or $80 monthly autoship program of product that you're not even aware of until you get your credit card statement. Or until you go to purchase something with your credit card, only to have it declined because the fraudsters who sell these bogus Acai Berry or Goji Berry diet "supplements" have maxed out your credit card. It ought to concern consumers that both Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray have put out statements denying any endorsement of online Acai Berry solicitations on their web sites, and that these celebrities are not endorsing Acai Berry products as part of any program designed to lose weight. The Goji Berry pills haven't been around long enough to draw attention from Rachael Ray or Oprah Winfrey, but the claims for it are identical to those of Acai Berry, and thus shouldn't be purchased through the "free trial" method, which turns out to be anything but free.

NOTE: This just in. Check out the following diet blogs for "Jenny Conrad" and "Katie Miller." The links are provided as sources below next to "Jenny's Diet Blog," and "Katie's Diet Blog." How can "Jenny Conrad" and "Katie Miller" look identical in the photos? "Jenny" and "Katie" would have to be twins to be able to pull this off, right? Now, let's check out "Debby Lathen's " diet blog. This should really shock you. "Debby" or "Deborah Lathen's" diet blog features the exact same photo of "Jenny Conrad" and "Katie Miller." For this to be "true," we're talking triplets! Scary to note is that "Debby Lathen's" blog states she's from "Riley, KS." That makes four testimonials from Riley, KS., "Jeanie, Lorrie, Debby," and now "Debbie," one not previously discussed, who live in the same town of this writer. And if you're still not convinced about these hucksters conceivably tracking your computer whereabouts when reading these "blogs," check out "Debbie's" Diet blog, not to be confused with "Debby's Diet Blog." "Debbie Adams," the latest one from Riley, KS., "lost 41 ugly pounds, has 3 kids and a wonderful husband." All these "testimonials" coming from Riley, KS., are just too coincidental, aside from the ridiculous pictures identically matching three of the bloggers as if they were triplets. "Debbie" also explains how "she wouldn't say she owed her life to Oprah," either. Would all of these "regular moms" or "working moms" risk lawsuits from Oprah or Rachael Ray if they were real people? Think about it.

Sources:
Sara's Weight Loss Blog, http://www.sarasweightloss.com/?t202id=256&t202kw=
Jeanie's Diet Blog, http://www.jeaniesdietblog.com/
Lorrie's Weight Loss Blog, http://lorriesweightloss.com/?p=3&t202id=7925&t202kw=&OVRAW=dr.%20oz%20diet&OVKEY=acai%20berry&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=33771257012&OVKWID=242946400012
Katie's Diet Blog, http://www.katiesdietblog.com/
Jenny's Diet Blog, http://www.jennysdietblog.com/
Debby's Diet Blog, http://www.debbysdietblog.com/
Debbie's Diet Blog, http://www.debbiesdietblog.com/
Oprah Winfrey, The Truth about Oprah and Acai. http://www.oprah.com/article/health/nutrition/20090105_orig_acai
Rachael Ray, Rachael Ray does not endorse Acai Berry products.http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/message-rachael-ray-fans/
Goji Berry, http://www.gojitrimpro.com/?microppcsite=ichatµppcterm=ichat
Amazon.com, www.amazon.com