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Last month, we cautioned you to be on the lookout for scammers taking advantage of fears surrounding the Coronavirus. Today, we have an update.

The FTC and FDA have jointly issued warning letters to seven sellers of unapproved and misbranded products, claiming they can treat or prevent the Coronavirus. The companies’ products include teas, essential oils, and colloidal silver. The FTC says the companies have no evidence to back up their claims — as required by law. The FDA says there are no approved vaccines, drugs or investigational products currently available to treat or prevent the virus.

The seven companies are:

  • Vital Silver
  • Aromatherapy Ltd.
  • N-ergetics
  • GuruNanda, LLC
  • Vivify Holistic Clinic
  • Herbal Amy LLC
  • The Jim Bakker Show

In part, the letters require the companies to notify the FTC within 48 hours of the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns. The FTC and FDA will follow up with companies that fail to make adequate corrections. Both agencies also will continue to monitor social media, online marketplaces and incoming complaints to help ensure that the companies do not continue to market fraudulent products under a different name or on another website.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says your best defense against the Coronavirus is to:

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
  • Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth, with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Stay home when you’re sick.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched items and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
  • Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
    • CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.
    • Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).
  • Stay informed. To learn more about the coronavirus, visit the CDC’s FAQ page. Visit the FDA to learn about the development and approval of treatments for coronavirus.

If you’re tempted to buy an unproven product or one with questionable claims, check with your doctor or other health care professional first.

Want more information on the latest scams we’re seeing? Sign up for our consumer alerts. See a product claiming to treat, cure or prevent Coronavirus? Report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

How to file a complaint video

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

KCKAAO
March 09, 2020
Thank you for your updates. Sadly, there are always people without scruples trying to make a fast $$ at others' expense.
Ginger
March 09, 2020
THANK YOU! :-)
83to4rtoo1
March 09, 2020
Thank you, for your information. Itis helpful.
rysio
March 09, 2020
Thank you again it is important that these scams be reported quickly I will pass this om to senior citizens ,Chambers and HOAS in my area Thank you again
e-mail
March 09, 2020
Thank you
Sue
March 09, 2020
I am so glad to see The Jim Bakker Show listed in the 7 companies. I "happened" to see his program last week and I agree he is preying on people's fears. Shameful.
Evelyn5
March 09, 2020
Thank you for highlighting companies by name that are taking advantage of the panic and lack of leadership. Please keep posting updates. I hope these messages also get into mainstream media.
Gofer
March 09, 2020
It's good to know you folks are keeping an eye out for scammers. In this day and age, they seem to be coming out of the woodwork, like fleas off a stray dog.
ELSIE LARIVIERE
March 09, 2020
THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING ACCURATE, INFORMATIVE INFORMATION.
gitli
March 10, 2020
Please arrest them instead! Otherwise, they will just change location or product name and start again. If this were a matter of losing a few dollars, ok, then warn them. But what they are doing can cause people to die. Arrest everyone connected to the company as being complicit so one of them doesn't just restart the scam. Since they know they may cause people to die I feel a charge of premeditated attempted murder for profit is an appropriate charge. If convicted, sentence accordingly. This will go a long way toward discouraging others from doing things like this that may kill people.
Busta
March 10, 2020
Glad to see The Jim Bakker Show on the list!
Judy
March 10, 2020
Thank You for being on top of these unscrupulous businesses and people.
Ernest Lee Mor…
March 12, 2020
Thank you very much for the information.
BDub
March 12, 2020
Smoothie King is promoting their smoothies as ways to build up your immunity to fight Corona Virus. It is sad to see companies trying to profit off this.