Stay Away from MLM Or Direct Sales Companies Selling Health Supplements Or Wellness Programs

Over the last 3 decades we have seen so many multi-level marketing (pyramid selling)  groups come up with various health scams selling health supplements that they claim prevents or cures a multitude of ailments and diseases along with claims that their products are made through the most rigorous processes and are made from the purest and most potent ingredients and have been tried and tested. Some will come up with studies to claim that their products work and even rope in unscrupulous doctors or medical professionals to endorse their products, but almost 100 percent of them are just scams targeting the sickly, desperate, vulnerable or those seeking to merely make money while exploiting their friends, relations and colleagues.


Malaysian MLM Scammers arrested in Thailand 

Most of these unscrupulous charlatans originate from America, especially from  the state of Utah which is home to the Christian Mormons! But you will find lots of entities and companies originating from other states in the US. These days we also have lots of MLM scammers originating from Malaysia and also Singapore. And some of these health and wellness MLMs will use doctors from third world countries like Sri Lanka and Philippines to help push their products in Asia. Thailand too of late has its share of local home grown MLM health supplement scammers.

Some of these companies will have vitamin supplements, or bottles of tonics which they claim to have been made and specially formulated from a variety of fruits or vegetables and herbs. Some claimed to have patented methods of extracting antioxidants from berries, mangosteens, starfruits, etc and that they have managed to discover some unique patented phytochemicals that can cure or prevent diseases.

There are even huge consumer goods corporations that even have separate units to handle their MLM platforms and with big budgets they buy even placements in publications like PDR or the Physician Desk Reference to list their products and make claims that the medical community has accepted their products or are  parts of an accepted  medical protocol. The PDR has lost every ounce of credibility and is not longer accepted by the medical community these days. In its place they are tons of new drug reference platforms that have more credibility.

Most of these companies will also make lots of medical claims that are against the rules of not only the US FDA but even the local Thai FDA. While regulatory bodies like the FDA are lax over supplements, claims that they can cure or treat or prevent diseases is not tolerated. The regulatory body in India took a certain MLM company to task for making such claims .
(https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fmcg/amway-making-false-misleading-health-claims-for-nutrilite-daily-up-court/articleshow/47240783.cms?from=mdr)

Some of these MLM companies are so smart and manipulative to indirectly get and then make claims that they are endorsed by medical associations to even medical establishments and also doctors. But if you do come across printed materials, or even record their presentations etc, you can easily use that to take legal actions against them and also the entities that they claim to be associated with.

Some are also long term established companies that have reinvented themselves due the fact that their company has been in financial hardships, hence they changed around to adopt the deceptive and get rich fast MLM schemes. So even if the company has been long established, it does not mean that that their products can be trusted.

Some of them are getting advanced by embracing tech using apps and also using jargon like genomics etc to add into their presentations while many will have supporting studies to claim about their products. These studies are of two types, the first are real studies done by real researchers from established institutions and published in credible journals but the research was not specifically about their products but perhaps on a key ingredient found in their products for instance there are studies that show that certain phytochemicals extracted from mangosteens have antioxidant properties that were found to be beneficial for certain types of cancer. These charlatans will use these studies to back their products when in actual fact we are not sure if their products actually contain these ingredients or even have them in a proper bioactive form. Take another case, Q10 or Ubiquinol, studies show that they have various medical and health benefits. But unknown to many Q10 exists as two forms of isomers and the one that is bioactive and beneficial for humans is expensive as its harder to procure or manufacture whereas the other isomer which the human body cannot even absorbed is used frequently in many supplements as labelling laws do not need you to mention which isomer is used. Hence many people are paying huge amounts of monies for supplements that will be passed out form your body and contributes literally nothing to your health!

This is a deceptive strategy used not only by MLM companies but also certain supplement manufacturing companies in Thailand and Asia.

Then there are other types of studies, where these scammers will pay desperate doctors or researchers to conduct fraudulent studies which are published in certain journals that can be bought!

Most of these MLM companies will use eloquent speakers to entice you and also use their passive manner of generating income to get many people to sign up to their programs or so called franchises.

Some even use lifestyle marketing and even the fact that humans like to belong to a group or community to get you sucked into a group acceptance approach. Some even use religion like Buddhism, Christianity or Spirituality to get you into their networks.

But most of the time, their overpriced health supplements are basically garbage that have no therapeutic benefits whatsoever. Even plain flour pills as placebo is less dangerous than their expensive health supplement garbage! Some even use celebs, doctors, nutritionists and internet idols or market influencers to entice you.

Currently there is a US based MLM entity rapidly trying to penetrate the Asia region with the support of partners from Singapore and Philippines etc and using professionals from the region and also Thailand to hoodwink people into their wellness platform. They have an app and have spent a lot of money in their marketing materials and also market influencers etc. The parent company name starts with a U but the platform talks about wealth and wellness. They tend to discredit modern medicine and claim that there is a shitfing paradigm in wellness thinking and that their products and protocols are the only way to good health and that they can cure or prevent diabetes, cardiovascular issues, cancer,  HIV etc.The public is strongly advised to stay away from such charlatans. If you have any incriminating evidence, do not hesitate to contact Thailand Medical News and also keep a database ie photos and names of people in their networks as it can be useful in the very near future. Should you also have any claims or other evidence of their wrong doings, do not hesitate to contact the local police, The MOPH , the Thai FDA or the Thai Consumer Board.