Are Tamiflu sales for H1N1 a scam?

For every crisis, there are people eager to jump in and make some money off of the fears of others. After 9/11, bogus sellers of "terrorism kits" (i.e. duct tape, plastic sheeting, and candles) popped up all over. H1N1 (i.e. Swine Flu) is one of our current crises, and it appears that we may have found out that overinflated claims for Tamiflu may indicate it is the next scam targeting our fears.

The Cochrane team eventually concluded that the evidence that Tamiflu reduces complications, hospitalizations, or deaths is weak at best, and if the drug does offer any benefit, it is slight indeed. This is precisely the conclusion of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). As we reported in our story in The Atlantic, the FDA directed Roche to state on the drug’s label the following caveat: “Tamiflu has not been proven to have a positive impact on the potential consequences (such as hospitalizations, mortality, or economic impact) of seasonal, avian, or pandemic influenza.” An FDA spokesperson told the BMJ, "The clinical trials . . . failed to demonstrate any significant difference in rates of hospitalization, complications, or mortality in patients receiving either Tamiflu or placebo.” Yet in the wake of the H1N1 pandemic, the FDA gave temporary approval for the drug to be given to hospitalized flu patients, who are at risk of dying.

"Your Warranty Is Expiring" Scammers Exposed

Odds are if you have a phone, you have gotten one or more of the "your warranty may be expiring" robocalls. These scam calls have spread across America like a Biblical plague and for a time it seemed like there was no way to stop them. But the scammers have been found and now details are leaking out about the con-men who bilked many out of hard-earned cash.

— Christopher D. Cowart, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., owns Transcontinental Warranty, a Delaware company based in Fort Lauderdale. A graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, Cowart likes to read, travel and play golf in his spare time. He also maintains a Facebook page and uses a LinkedIn profile to advertise his latest business ventures.

— James A. Dunne, 36, of Daytona Beach, Fla., owns Florida-based Voice Touch with his wife, Maureen. Dunne has a checkered legal past, including charges of filing a false report of a bomb that landed him six months in jail in 1991. He was most recently arrested in 2001 for indecent exposure, but those charges were later dismissed.

— Maureen E. Dunne, nee Maureen Geisen, is James Dunne's wife. Little information can be found pertaining to her.

— Damian P. Kohlfeld, 35, of Valparaiso, Ind., is the owner of Network Foundations, which is based in Chicago. Kohlfeld allegedly supplied the technical know-how for the alleged telemarketing scheme employed by all three companies. The Arizona State University graduate has more than a decade of experience writing software and building computer networks. His latest hit, according to the FTC, was a "spoofing" device that tricked caller ID systems.

It appears these scammers underestimated the outrage of the average American, and are now looking at a long, unpleasant court trial before several years in prison.

Watch your back: Trilegiant

Mod-Blog friend and commenter, Bowhunter, called last night to report that a company had attempted to scam him last night. Apparently, the company called "Trilegiant" (formerly Compucard, currently Affinion, constantly changing its name) had enrolled him into a "discounts program" without his permission. When he checked them out, he discovered they are currently under investigation for fraud for doing the same thing to many, many others.

Be sure to check your credit card and bank statements each month for fraudulent charges like this, as it is becoming easier and easier in the electronic age to sneak something past the radar.

Pay Per E-Mail

One of the reasons that spam and e-mail scams are profitable is because of the low overhead cost. The number of responses needed for a return on investment is less than 1%. (Somewhere I seem to remember it's around 0.01%.) Wired has up an article about a company named Goodmail that for a quarter of a cent per message will verify the message allowing it to bypass ISPs filters. (This requires the ISP to be using the Goodmail technology). For a broadcast of 5,000,000 e-mails, it will cost the sender $12,500. Using the 0.01% response rate, that means that out of 5,000,000 e-mails, there will be 500 responses for a cost of $25 per responder. Will this stop spam or scams? I doubt it. I'm guessing most spammers and all scammers will make at least $25 off of a responders. Supposedly, if a company hasn't been in business over a year or they have a number of spam complaints, Goodmail will not take their money, but I suspect that spammers and scammers will find ways around it.