# Ads displayed on straightdope.com possibly part of scam **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 9, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451 "2011-07-09T22:46:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/1 "2011-07-09T22:46:10Z")
Those ads that promise “one weird tip” or some similar phase for a tiny belly or better sleep [have been linked to a large fraud scheme by the FTC](http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/ubiquitous-tiny-belly-online-ad-part-of-scheme-government-says/2011/06/27/gIQAbI6Q1H_story.html). I’m posting this here instead of one of the other fora because the PTB should be interested. I frequently see these ads both on the main [straightdope.com](http://straightdope.com) front page and in fact there was one there as I was coming here to report this. I know these are served by a third party but the PTB have in the past asked for help in finding ads that should not be shown. Hence this thread. > [@](#): > > The Web site operators are known as affiliate marketers because they’re allied with, but independent of, the merchants whose products they’re promoting. The relationship works like this: The affiliates seed the Internet with the “1 Tip” ad and put up the testimonial Web sites with their own funds. When a would-be customer clicks the links on the affiliate site and orders products from the merchant’s site, the affiliate receives a cut of the purchase. The payment varies from company to company, but FTC investigators found evidence that it can be as much as $30 per order. > > …The FTC says that none of the Web sites can back up their weight-loss claims. But the real heart of the scam, it says, is the offer of a“free” sample. …Someone who orders a sample offered by one hCG marketer, for example, is technically agreeing to pay an additional $79.99 for another shipment of the product two weeks later, and another $79.99 six weeks after that, according to the disclaimer. The charges and the product keep coming until the buyer calls a toll-free number to cancel. > > But that’s easier said than done, investigators found. Canceling often involved time-consuming phone calls and frequent hang-ups that left customers frustrated and angry, the agency said. In the meantime, the charges continued to roll on. Essentially, these scamsters are farming unsuspecting people’s credit cards. I would think the Straight Dope would not want to be hosting such a scheme. Now that I’ve probably seeded this thread with all kinds of juicy keywords, I assume that the Law of Universal Irony will require some of those ads to be served on this thread. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/2 "2011-07-09T23:53:49Z")
Reported. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/3 "2011-07-10T12:37:28Z")
Darn. I’ll be fat for ever. And poor. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/4 "2011-07-10T12:52:46Z")
There was already a [thread in GQ](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=615410) about this where the same article was linked. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/5 "2011-07-10T16:32:59Z")
At the very least, the ubiquitous ad featuring the woman with a facial mudpack should be blocked, as it induces major nausea. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/6 "2011-07-10T16:40:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > At the very least, the ubiquitous ad featuring the woman with a facial mudpack should be blocked, as it induces major nausea. Is that what that is? I seriously thought it was a picture of an orangutan. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/7 "2011-07-10T17:40:37Z")
Ha! The same page a t the Washington Post that reports the study also has a similar ad. Obviously a scam. It truly is everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-displayed-on-straightdope-com-possibly-part-of-scam/588451/8 "2011-07-12T16:10:09Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > At the very least, the ubiquitous ad featuring the woman with a facial mudpack should be blocked, as it induces major nausea. I would kiss the hand of whoever can make that ad go away.