This one is really a no-brainer — just avoid “The Brain Stimulator Method” It’s the name of given to a slick e-mail based advertisement floating around the Net supposedly authored by a Dr. Richard Humphrey. The emails send you to an even slicker web site asking for the “low price” of $37 for what appears to be a booklet about brain exercises “guaranteed” to “restore your mind back to its configuration when you were in your 20s”. This particular offering is a textbook version of the numerous other $37 infoscams that have infected the Web over the last three years.
If this claim looks familiar, it probably is — it is almost identical to the questionable other brain exercise offerings also hawked on the Internet — and it was probably conjured up by the same marketers . They almost all charge the mysterious $37. Here’s how it works: you are treated to a videomercial that touts the “proven way to perfect improve your brain”. Is it a scam? Is it a rip-off? Does it work? You’ll never find out, largely because of an increasingly pernicious Internet industry that uses fake product review sites to hide customer reactions. You’ll also never be able to find out about the credentials of the Dr. Richard Humphries — none apparently exist on the Internet, nor are they provided at his own alleged web site. So, should you spend the $37? We recommend not, for the following reasons:
1. There’s a reason this sales pitch is slick — they spend a lot of marketing money to get it to you. Who is paying for that? You are. And, like many scammers, they are using Clickbank to sell their ebook so don’t assume you’ll get a refund.
2. If you look for a review of the product, you are deluged with lots of fake review or “scam” sites that simply direct you to the main sales site or offer some pablum talking about how the product is highly rated or recommended. (such as scamX.com and infoscamreviews.com) The marketers for this service paid to have these fake sites thwart any customer looking for real reviews. It is also a tactic to obscure any customers who have posted complaints or alerts about fraudulent claims.
3. The author is an unknown. If the website fails to feature the credentials of the author and/or if a Google search turns up nothing about this person, you can bet this is a marketer driven product. We were unable to find a “Dr. Richard Humphrey” who admits to writing this “system” and could not confirm that the man in the video was, in fact, a medical doctor with an expertise in optometry or anything relating to eye physiology. Nor is there any neuroscientist named Dr. Richard Humphrey licensed to practice medicine in any state…which perhaps explains why he is writing “from an undisclosed location”.
4. Perhaps most importantly, there is an abundance of free or low-cost brain exercise information on the Internet. Amazon offers a number of ebooks that cost nothing and provide the kinds of well-established brain exercises that can help. And a number of legitimate Internet companies offer FREE interactive brain exercises like Neuronation, Mind Games, Brain Matrix, as well as low-cost offerings by BrainHQ and Rosetta Stone.
5. These kinds of offerings generally like to tout that their information is controversial and contains information that Big Pharma, Big Medicine, Big Brother or some other such authority is trying to keep from you. Sure enough, the Brain Stimulator hawkers call their video a “breakthrough” that the “intelligencia” has “banned”. And they use all of the marketer-driven catch words: “revolutionary”, “greedy”, “supercharge”, “miracle”. It’s a textbook snake oil pitch! A sloppy one at that….rife with exaggerated claims.
6. The testimonials offered in the video do not offer the full names or backgrounds of the individuals who are touting the product in very terse, well-crafted and well-lighted videos.
You don’t have to spend $37 to get information about how to improve your memory. We recommend that you check out these low-cost or free books or web-based exercises before forking over $37 to the faux doctor. And beware ANY Net-based sales pitch that has uncredentialed, slick video presentations with no independent reviews. It may not be a scam, but it is probably a rip-off because it is overpriced for what it is offering. In this case, there’s lots of good vision exercises in the marketplace offered at a fraction of the cost of “Brain Stimulator”. Save your hard-earned money.
“You know it is a scam as soon as the actor says ‘Big Pharma’ is making millions and will go to any length to stop him…”
It”s a scam alright. But “Big Pharma” is indeed corrupt. Plenty of people know that, so it’s pretty good sucker bait for them, especially if they have a low capacity for critical thought. However, if you think either the FDA or the pharmaceutical companies are always sincerely looking to serve your health and well being, think again. Maybe you need some training in critical thought.
I’ve known people who worked for the FDA and activist lawyers who have attempted to expose the disinformation that both the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry peddle. I you doubt this, do some research. “Follow the money” can be a very wise thing to do.
Find out for yourself what pharmaceutical R&D these companies finance. A negligible amount goes to basic research to find cures. Virtually all of it goes to dealing with symptoms. That way the keep you paying high prices all your life. They don’t produce products that lose their customer base for them. But that’s exactly what cures do.
The industry and the whole medical establishment, with notable individual exceptions, hates anything cheap and effective. It doesn’t make them any money. They will put it down vigorously any way they can with propaganda that most people happily swallow along with their pills designed for symptom-only relief. The pharmaceutical industry want to keep their customers like any other business. It’s not that they’re loaded up with evil individuals, but there does have to be some amoral complicity at high levels in the interest of profit at the expense of public health.
The most honest and admirable MDs and surgeons I’ve personally known will tell you the same thing. They’re in a position to know. One of them I once knew worked for the FDA. He said the research scientists care about public well being. But he also said the top administrators are strictly political. He said they don’t five a fig about public health. They’re all rotating around the infamous revolving door between the industry and the FDA. They’re corrupt as hell. I mean that literally.
You know it is a scam as soon as the actor says ‘Big Pharma’ is making millions and will go to any length to stop him LOL
Thanks very much for your clear outline of reasons why Brain Stimulator (as with so many similar ads) is very, very likely a useless scam. Seen so many of these and don’t trust them, but know it’s easy for people who are worried to get sucked in, especially by fake reviews, so your site is a definite service.