Today I was on my local news website, WRAL.com, and I saw one an ad box which screamed “SCAM” at me. Having been online since 1988, I tend to see these things from a mile away. The headlines were just too outlandish. So, of course I clicked on all of them. As an Internet marketer, I like seeing the way people make money online, even the scam artists.

In this case I clicked the article which read “Bill Nye New Invention Triples Memory in 3 Weeks!”. I knew before I clicked it that I’d see some pill, probably given away for “free”. The problem with these deceptive ads though is that there is always fine print hidden away. People think they’re getting something for free but it costs $90/mo pretty much forever.

Fake Business Insider Website

Upon clicking the fake headline I was greeted with a fake Business Insider website.

The true Business Insider website is www.businessinsider.com, but this site is braininsidernewstoday.com. The fake site has a fake news headline which reads “Do You Wish You Were Smarter? Bill Nye’s Discovery Is Proven To Double Your IQ And Will Be Banned From The Public”.

I didn’t read all of this article but it basically has a bunch of Bill Nye the Science Guy quotes and pictures and goes on to talk about the miraculous capabilities of Advanced IQ. It says something about a Harvard Study which resulted in this huge breakthrough and you could end up being so smart that you may end up owning mansions, yachts and jets.

They even say that Steven Hawking used Advanced IQ:

Is Advanced IQ a scam?

The ads are fake and the Business Insider website is not real. Is this Advanced IQ doing this or an affiliate marketer? Who knows! A brief Google search brought up for me several fake review sites. After looking at the site, I could not find any real ingredients listed.

I did search Harvard’s site for brain boost and they DO have an article available on how to boost your brain and they tell people that after decades of research they recommend people take a quick walk to boost their brain.

WebMD does have an article about brain boosting pills. They point out that no pill can make you a genius if you aren’t one.

Fake Facebook Comments

At the bottom of the fake web page, there are what appears to be recent Facebook comments in place. In the marketing world, some call this “social proof”, however, these are not from a Facebook feed, these are indeed fake:

Watch out on check out

On the checkout page, people think they are trying out this product for $5.

But if you don’t scroll down, you will soon discover $90 charges appearing on your credit card.

How to actually get a boost

I personally like to go to the gym. I find myself very focused afterwards.

The only supplement I’ve been able to find online with actual reviews by people who Amazon has verified as actual users is neuroIGNITE. The ingredients are clearly listed here and the pills are not just crappy caffeine pills. neuroIGNITE contains Bacopa, St. John’s Wort and Ginkgo Biloba for focus and clarity. Here’s an affiliate link to this product. Check out the reviews for yourself and speak to your doctor before taking anything questionable:

Do you feel scammed?

Don’t feel bad, the website looks very legitimate.

Please let us know below how you arrived at this website. Was it through an advertisement on a news website like Fox, ABC or CNN?

If you purchased it, did you cancel the charges on your credit card?

Len
Latest posts by Len (see all)
On September 27, 2017   /   Internet   /   18 Comments
18 Comments
  1. Don
    2:05 pm on September 27, 2017

    I saw this today on my local news website as well!

    Reply
  2. Joe
    12:55 am on December 11, 2017

    Now Elon Musk is supposedly behind it. The story has changed from Bill Nye to someone else. Who will it be next month?

    Reply
  3. Jaaon
    2:23 pm on December 30, 2017

    I couldnā€™t resist the $4 price on a 60 capsule trial… but now Iā€™m worried if whatā€™s inside them is also not legitimate. Iā€™d prefer to get a pill studied for ingredients to see if the entire operation isnā€™t a rip.

    Reply
  4. Shirley
    8:18 pm on January 4, 2018

    I ordered a Free trial bottle of Advanced IQ to be charged only $4.95 for shipping. I ordered this on my NEW Debit Card. Two minutes after the order, my bank texted me for a fraud alert. There had also been a charge for $2.99 on my card which I did not make. The bank said they were closing my account immediately and sending me a new card. I verified this by calling the number on the back of my Debit Card. Interesting that a NEW card would be fraudulently charged after Advanced IQ charged me for shipping. Love my Bank for being so cautious. This bottle will be thrown away along with my old scammed Debit Card.

    Reply
  5. George Watson
    4:52 pm on January 18, 2018

    Should have checked for a scam before I hit the buy free sample button. It added another postage charge for a second, unwanted product. When I called the Customer Service line, the agent said it could not cancel the order or change it. I’d have to return the merchandise for credit. I’ve blocked the merchant with Visa and disputed the charges, which should take care of it, but very disappointing. And yes, Elon Musk was touted as owning the company. If that’s not true, where are the Feds and charges of Internet/Mail fraud??

    Reply
  6. Judy
    11:05 am on January 20, 2018

    I found an offer for a free sample of Advanced IQ on Facebook. I agreed to a shipping charge for the free product. There was nothing I read which indicated the company would keep trying to charge me on a monthly basis, because I would never agree to that. When I noticed the unauthorized charge on my account, I called my bank. My bank was aware of the kind of scam I was dealing with, and asked if they could call the company for me and join the conversation. It took a while to find any useful number for the company. Once I was speaking to a company rep, it was obvious she was speaking from a script, and was doing her best to get me to agree to the charges. I continually informed her that I never agreed to the charge or a recurring order and would not pay one red cent! I also informed her that what she was doing was a scam, and that a company that sends a bill with legitimate charges usually provides contact information which I never received. She lamely replied that the companies number was on the bottle. The bottle has absolutely no number on it. There is only a barely visable address and email that I had to look at with an actual magnifying glass: 532 Patterson Ave. Ste 100, Mooresville, NC 28115. Support@xcehealth.com (I have 20/20 vision.) The rep finally agreed to drop the charge and take me off any recurring order, and informed me the charge should be removed within 5 business days. We will see if that is the case. My bank has agreed to monitor the situation with me. I forwarded all info to the BBB. I really do hope this scam can be eliminated! Not everyone will fight it, and that’s what they count on.

    Reply
    • Len
      5:03 pm on January 23, 2018

      Please keep us in the loop. I’ve been to Mooresville, just a random small town in North Carolina. Strange..

      Reply
  7. Kevin
    12:56 am on January 24, 2018

    My story is very similar to Judy’s. Same ad on Facebook, same charges, same bottle and so on. The tried charging my credit card for $89 and change 2 days in a row, which Capital One promptly wouldn’t accept. I called and had a new card overnighted to me, but the Cap One Rep told me that they may be able to submit paperwork to them saying I agreed to the charges, and try to charge my new card. I told them if that happened I would just completely close the account.

    I no longer use a debit card to make purchases due to having my card info stolen so many times in the past not mention having to deal with the headache of getting my money back, waiting for new cards, and just the entire inconvenience of it all. So I use multiple credit cards that I can monitor easily. I use different ones for different types of purchases, based primarily on where I am making the purchase such as this now apparent scam.

    Just FYI to others, that Credit cards have better security and protection that your debit card, and I never pay any interest, I just pay them off in full, some cards even 3 or 4 times a month for ones that have lower limits, and once valid charges clear, they will allow for it to be paid. Not always a perfect way, but it works for me to minimize risk. And this is actually the 1st time I have had an issue. Has anyone ever figured out whats actually in the capsule. Smells like Tea. Still wondering…

    Reply
  8. Kevin
    1:37 am on January 24, 2018

    So I just wanted also add that I found an interesting read, that seems legit. It points out the exact same issues discussed above, but also goes beyond a bit to dive into the ingredients (that are listed). If posting this link here is a no-no, I apologize in advance. But as I ended my initial post above “Still wondering”, that I am. Wondering if its safe to consume. Obviously, when I fell into their trap, I had an interest in boosting my brain performance. Hope the time I spent in this can assist someone in the future. Good luck everyone, and better luck to all in the future with these sort of things (myself included)
    Respectfully,
    Kevin

    http://www.highya.com/advanced-iq-reviews

    Reply
  9. Dooped in FL
    1:21 pm on January 24, 2018

    Hi, my story is the same. Same bank account issues.
    I got my ad on CNN Tech Money. Should have known better. THere is only Tech or Money. Not together.

    So I hung up and realized it was for the Advanced IQ product that i got the free trial for.
    And got a 29.99 charge on my account from a PUREAFRICANMAN (Saint George)
    Anoter for 5.99 from PREMIUMMANGOCL (SAINT GEORGE)
    Another for 4.95 from GARCINIAEXTRAC (SAINT GEORGE)
    I called the 888 number on my statement, and I beleive an asian female answered and said they aren’t a product selling company, but they facilitate purchases for “Health” supplement pill manufacturers.
    Then came on here and realized i was dooped.
    all still pending, so we’ll see where this goes..

    Reply
    • Dooped in FL
      1:23 pm on January 24, 2018

      correction to paragraph structure:

      I called the 888 number on my statement, and I beleive an asian female answered and said they arenā€™t a product selling company, but they facilitate purchases for ā€œHealthā€ supplement pill manufacturers.
      So I hung up and realized it was for the Advanced IQ product that i got the free trial for.
      And got a 29.99 charge on my account from a PUREAFRICANMAN (Saint George)
      Anoter for 5.99 from PREMIUMMANGOCL (SAINT GEORGE)
      Another for 4.95 from GARCINIAEXTRAC (SAINT GEORGE)

      Reply
  10. Dooped in FL
    1:26 pm on January 24, 2018

    ah, also forgot to mention that the ad was using ELon Musk as a big user and INVESTOR into the product, claiming he was leaving a portion of the Tesla Corp, and focusing on this product to deliver better lives both in Technology products and Health products like Advanced IQ. Albeit, it was 6am and i was in bed feeling tired and feeling inspired… Now i’m feeling stupid.

    Reply
  11. Trump
    1:48 pm on August 29, 2018

    This scam is back. This time it’s called Cognivex Clarity and is recommended by Donald Trump.

    Reply

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