Last week my co-founder sent me a link to an article purporting to be on the Daily Mail Online website. It was a story about how our national treasure and much trusted figure, Mary Berry, had been using CBD since 2016 and has now started her own CBD business much to the annoyance of the ‘Big Pharma’
What to look out for
The Set Up
Looking at the above picture, the first thing to note is the URL, you would expect it to be similar to “www.dailymail…….” Instead it is a scam site address. In Facebook the ‘link’ button is something familiar – Always check the URL.
The Hook
The next warning sign is the website link of “Bionic Bliss’, their landing page makes over the top medical claims about the benefits of CBD Oil. ANY medical claim is not allowed in CBD advertising unless you are a qualified doctor.
In addition this is the only page which indicates how much CBD is in each bottle, 300mg, claiming this to be ‘Maximum Strength’. It isn’t, there are products on the market at 1000mg, 1500mg and 2000mg.
The Sale
Now they have you hooked and you click on the ‘order now’ where you arrive at a page which states you are ‘Approved’.
There are 3 bundles available each one offering a different number of free bottles with the order. The price is deliberately shown as ‘equivalent to’ £x per bottle’ rather than the full price of your order.
And the killer FOMO (fear of missing out) statement under each package.
What to look for
In these adverts there is no description of the product, they are the ultimate confidence trick, all the advertising is designed to make you believe it is genuine with the satisfaction and money back guarantees, backed by a high profile personality.
Do your research;
Does the business have a social media presence?
Is it informative or sensationalist?
Are they making medical claims which seem too good to be true?
Can you contact them by phone?
Do they have 3rd party lab reports?
We know Medivita is not your only choice but we do aim to keep our clients safe with carefully sourced products which we use ourselves on a daily basis.
Stay safe.
Update 11-2-20
Since we posted this article we have been inundated with stories of people being ‘taken in’ by this scam, some seem to have received some bottles of oil others have not been so fortunate. Mary Berry has also spoken and there is a statement on her website and our Facebook Group stating she has nothing to do with Bionic Bliss.
Bionic Bliss is registered in Northern Ireland with one Director, Sarah Grauert. The Registered Address is 69 Canal Street, Newry, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, BT35 6JF. The Correspondence Address for Ms Grauert is a virtual office in Northern Ireland – Mind Your Business (n.i.) Ltd, 1 Elmfield Avenue, Warrenpoint, Newry, Co. Down., Northern Ireland, BT34 3HQ.
The Company was formed in October 2019 by Ms Grauert, an American citizen.
For those who have been affected please follow the Citizen’s Advice Bureau guidance.
6 comments
Join the conversationRay Powell - 02/08/2020
I have been duped by this add, and received Five bottles yesterday, costing me £199 instead of the £39 the advert cleverly, led me to believe.
I paid by MasterCard, can I claim my money back due to the lies and deceit. If they have deliberately deceived customers, I cannot trust the oil, being genuine, and will not take it.
MS RITA D BAKER - 02/10/2020
I’ve been a victim of this scam and have received nothing. They took £55 and the same day another £99 tried my bank but they wasn’t helpful. The email address and phone number are fake
Gary Edwards - 02/10/2020
My partner has been a victim of this scam, the company biopic
Bliss offered to send her a free bottle of hemp oil.
She has received nothing. And the scammers managed to take
£55 and £99 from her account
pamela trill - 02/15/2020
had a large proportion of my state pension taken.They are fraudulently using the name/photos of famous people. C An they legally do fhis. I warned Mary Berry’s agents of this scam which would do her harm. They used Judi Dench as well as others
joan salmon - 02/20/2020
I fell for this scam and ordered two sample bottles but these came with a standard bottle of Bionic Bliss CBD oil at a cost of £39.80. However £199.00 was taken from my bank account by a company called “Live Better”. My bank has now informed me that the payment is for a repeat order and this amount will be taken from my account every month and that they are unable to stop the payments. I am unable to trace this company. I have since received 5 bottles of the oil but there is no enclosed assignment note nor indication of the name, address or phone number of the sender. I don’t know what to do? Now I don’t trust this product.
R. Twil - 02/22/2020
i have also been duped, even though i could not finish the order, once they had my information they acted quickly and took £199 from my CC. The bank say they can do nothing if you already received the goods, which I did. They sent it via courier who put it through my letter box, 5 bottles.
No consignment note or return address. What should one do with these bottles, as I would not dare consume this product now. I am lucky in that my bank will put a stop on any repeat order