Health Fraud

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Summary

Health fraud involves selling drugs, devices, foods, or cosmetics that have not been proven effective. Keep in mind - if it sounds too good to be true, it's probably a scam. At best, these scams don't work. At worst, they're dangerous. They also waste money, and they might keep you from getting the treatment you really need.

Health fraud scams can be found everywhere, promising help for many common health issues, including weight loss, memory loss, sexual performance, and joint pain. They target people with serious conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, arthritis, Alzheimer's, and many more.

To protect yourself, recognize the red flags such as:

• Miracle cure
• Quick fix
• Ancient remedy
• Secret ingredient
• Scientific breakthrough

Before taking an unproven or little known treatment, talk to a doctor or health care professional - especially when taking prescription drugs.

Food and Drug Administration

Start Here

• 6 Tip-offs to Rip-offs: Don't Fall for Health Fraud Scams (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• How to Spot Health Fraud (Food and Drug Administration)
• Miracle Health Claims (Federal Trade Commission) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Quick Tips for Buying Medicines Over the Internet (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Beware of Illegally Marketed Diabetes Treatments (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Beware of Products Promising Miracle Weight Loss (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Cancer Treatment Scams (Federal Trade Commission) Also in Spanish
• Danger: Don't Drink Miracle Mineral Solution or Similar Products (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Do Not Use: Black Salve is Dangerous and Called by Many Names (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Products Claiming to "Cure" Cancer Are a Cruel Deception (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Protect Your Family From Fraudulent Flu Products (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Weight Loss, Male Enhancement, and Other Products Sold Online or in Stores May Be Dangerous (Food and Drug Administration)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Baseline, Cross-sectional Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Efficient...
• Article: Scale validation for the identification of falsified hand sanitizer: public and...
• Article: Exploring anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability in the World Health Organization, the...
• Health Fraud -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Food and Drug Administration

Patient Handouts

• Protecting yourself from cancer scams (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish