Chances are that if you are here reading this, you use the Internet for a variety of purposes including searching for health related information. Do a search for any number of health concerns and you will be guaranteed to pull up pages and pages of links to hundreds and possibly thousands of resources. In addition to web sites there are on-line support groups, news groups, and bulletin boards. The Internet opens up a whole world of information and support but it also opens up a world of spam, scams, and downright lies.
People with medical or mental health issues may be particularly vulnerable to the unscrupulous. Many of us would like nothing more than a cure for what ails us or our loved ones. When someone tells us they have some “amazing cure” for our illness, our logic tells us it probably isn’t true but something makes us listen anyway, just in case. It is simply human nature. But there is real danger in trusting those who do not have our best interests in mind. It is very possible to lose money, time, and possibly our health due to unwise choices. So how do we tell what is real and what is just someone trying to sell us the latest miracle cure?
Here are some tips to keep you safe and sane on the Internet:
• Beware of strangers who suddenly appear on support communities emailing you with promises that they have just the thing you need to cure your depression or medical problem.
• Be wary of people who use blanket statements of generalities without ever talking about their own experiences. The treatment they propose may be described as “amazing!” or “100% effective.” They may promise to cure your depression in one day. If it sounds over the top and too good to be true it most likely is.
• Be suspicious of anyone making grandiose statements about a treatment without providing any scientific evidence (peer reviewed independent studies published in reputable scientific journals) to back up what they say.
• Beware of people who suddenly join health groups and communities who attempt to steer you to external web sites selling their products or services when you did not ask for such information.
• Scammers like to use the tactic of telling you that your way of treating your physical or mental illness is the wrong way or that traditional treatments are somehow “dangerous.” They will then attempt to lure you into prescribing their “better way.” Scammers may come onto a health site and incite a public argument just so they can quickly gain attention in order to promote their services or products.
• Reputable treatments with scientific validity stand alone on their own merit. Disreputable companies promoting scams attempt to discredit traditional methods of treatment as a way to promote their product. Beware of people who suddenly appear in your health community disparaging reputable treatments for no apparent reason.
