The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it had sent out 50 more warning letters to companies marketing phony cures and treatments for the Coronavirus. This brings the total number of companies who have received such cease and desist letters to 170 and this number most likely represents only a small number of the companies trying to foist worthless cures and treatments on a public eager to find some defense to this pandemic. The most recent letters sent by the FTC focused on companies marketing nebulizers, naturopathic, and homeopathic treatments, hydrotherapy and even freeze-dried horse milk as cures or treatments for the Coronavirus. Here is link to a list of the companies receiving the most recent warning letters sent by the FTC and the FDA demanding them to stop making claims that their products can treat or cure the Coronavirus. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/05/ftc-sends-letters-warning-50-more-marketers-stop-making?utm_source=govdelivery
Companies not complying with the FTC’s demands within 48 hours are subject to legal action by the FTC.
According to FTC Chairman Joe Simons, “There is a high level of anxiety over the potential spread of Coronavirus. What we don’t need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims. These warning letters are just the first step. We’re prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam.”
TIPS
As for healthcare products in general, you should be skeptical about companies that promise miraculous cures to illnesses and medical conditions. The world is full of snake oil salesmen. You should also be wary of any healthcare product that is sold exclusively either over the Internet or through mail-order advertisements. The best course of action is to ask your physician about the effectiveness of a particular product or program before you buy it. As for the Coronavirus specifically, the best places to get reliable information are the World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus or the Centers for Disease Control https://www.cdc.gov/
For those of you receiving the Scam of the day through an email, I just want to remind you that if you want to see the ever increasing list of Coronavirus scams go to the first page of the http://www.scamicide.com website and click on the tab at the top of the page that indicates “Coronavirus Scams.”