4 ms·

Fake testimonials go to next level with IP locator

7 points by miles 17y ago

Remember the discussion about the Indian fellow posing as an American parrot lover to sell ebooks? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=516215 Mom's Teeth Story has taken it to the next level: your IP address is used to place the mom ("Cathy Anderson") in or near your very own town! Even more depressingly, they don't even insert the city and state very well; it stands out like a sore thumb in bold with incorrect spacing: http://www.momsteethstory.com/m4m.php Does this violate some sort of truth in advertising law? Gimmicks like this are likely to turn customers off to a given product or service immediately (provided they notice).

coglethorpe 17y ago
What you're looking at is a fake blog or "flog" and the FTC in the US is starting to zero in on this type of testimonial. http://www.shoemoney.com/2009/03/26/bullshit-acai-berry-weightloss-blogs-under-fire-from-ftc/ http://www.shoemoney.com/2009/03/26/bullshit-acai-berry-weig... Not to mention the lawsuit and Oprah and "Dr. Oz" have taken against diet supplement makers for using their names without permission. The Obama Administration has also targeted flogs that used the president's name to hook people into "stimulus" check scams. http://www.financialreflections.com/beware-of-economic-stimulus-scams/847 http://www.financialreflections.com/beware-of-economic-stimu... The flogs may go away eventually, but these sort of scams all rely on one thing: the ability to hook a consumer into a regular billing agreement while making it look like they are making a one time purchase+. Ringtones, diet pills, teeth whitening, government grant searches and more rely on that to make huge profits. + or enough consumers learning how to spot that type of scam (i.e. reading the fine print).
frossie 17y ago
I've seen that kind of IP-location in ads. Personally I find it hilarious - it is a huge flag that they are scamming me because I live in a small town, so my first reaction is not "wow they are just like me", it's "that can't be true". I guess it might work better for the folks that live in NYC or LA.

7 points by miles 17y ago

coglethorpe 17y ago

What you're looking at is a fake blog or "flog" and the FTC in the US is starting to zero in on this type of testimonial. http://www.shoemoney.com/2009/03/26/bullshit-acai-berry-weightloss-blogs-under-fire-from-ftc/ http://www.shoemoney.com/2009/03/26/bullshit-acai-berry-weig... Not to mention the lawsuit and Oprah and "Dr. Oz" have taken against diet supplement makers for using their names without permission. The Obama Administration has also targeted flogs that used the president's name to hook people into "stimulus" check scams. http://www.financialreflections.com/beware-of-economic-stimulus-scams/847 http://www.financialreflections.com/beware-of-economic-stimu... The flogs may go away eventually, but these sort of scams all rely on one thing: the ability to hook a consumer into a regular billing agreement while making it look like they are making a one time purchase+. Ringtones, diet pills, teeth whitening, government grant searches and more rely on that to make huge profits. + or enough consumers learning how to spot that type of scam (i.e. reading the fine print).

frossie 17y ago

I've seen that kind of IP-location in ads. Personally I find it hilarious - it is a huge flag that they are scamming me because I live in a small town, so my first reaction is not "wow they are just like me", it's "that can't be true". I guess it might work better for the folks that live in NYC or LA.