You've seen it on your sidebars for as long as you can remember, like Google's own wallpaper. If you thought the "tiny belly" ads sounded suspect, you were right on. The U.S. government has finally shut down the billion-dollar diet scam.
The ubiquitous “1 Tip for a Tiny Belly” which may have sounded appealing, particularly to the yummy mummies out there, literally popped up everywhere, promising to reveal the secret to rid you of your baby bulge once and for all.
“Nearly everything about these sites is a fake,” claimed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Hopefuls were led to fake sites with equally fake endorsements from well-known news organizations. According to the FTC, “The photographs of the reporters are copied from legitimate news sources. The comments are cut and pasted from other, similarly fake sites."
The site promised "free samples". The catch? The samples follow a first instalment of an expensive monthly shipment automatically deducted from the buyer’s credit card.
Tiny Belly's weight-loss claims, such as 'lose 25 pounds in four weeks', weren't only false but impossible to achieve. The Google ads appeared on numerous sites, including the Toronto Star’s Heathzone.
One of ten such affiliated sites is run by Calgarian Jesse Willms, who is currently being sued by the FTC.
“Our companies give consumers the opportunity to buy a variety of products and services at significant savings,” said Willms, whose company is alleged to have earned $450 million through “unfair and deceptive” sales.
Last year, on one of the sites sued, the Tiny Belly ads generated more than a billion impressions. If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.
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