Scam Tactics: Knowing the Differences among FDA Registered, FDA Certified, and FDA Approved

Recently, someone posted the following comment on BehindMLM

"Davie Watkins" claimed on 6-OCT-2017 that "FDA approved
Vida Divina's Coffee Line in October 2017"

Let's first examine, what did "Vida Divina" reps say about FDA? If you Google, you may find:

The search results says "FDA certified", or "FDA Approved". But what is the truth?

None of the actual results link to FDA, it's just announcements, and they can't even agree on the language. Some say "certified", some say "approved". What is the truth? As it turns out, it was NEITHER.

Scam Psychology: Crank Magnetism and Sheeple Magnetism

"Crank magnetism" is a phenomenon describing that a crank for one idea often is also a crank of one or more unrelated but equally unorthodox and often irrational ideas.  The term was coined in 2007 by Mark Hoofnagle to describe a particular Holocaust denier who also latched onto some crazy DNA theory of disease from someone else.

When I encounter this term, I immediately thought of how "sheeple", i.e. those victims ready to be fleeced, tend to fall for one scheme after another, not necessarily at the same time, but they are vulnerable to cross recruitment, i.e. "here's something else that'd be good for you". To my surprise, there is no such term.  While sheeple is defined, and there are related terms such as reload scam, the phenomenon that a sheeple can believe in multiple unrelated scams is not a term.

So let me coin the term now: sheeple magnetism... phenomenon describing a sheeple, who fell for one scam, is often vulnerable to other scams.

Ponzi scheme victims are the most often found examples of sheeple magnetism, esp. if they were among the "net winners", i.e the minority who got more out of the scheme than they put in (so the rest are net losers).  They were often given "contrafreeloading" tasks to make them believe they "earned" their money. Such "victims" will go on to a different scheme that they recognize to be of a similar structure: way too easy work, way too much money, and believe they found their path to riches.

Scam Psychology: the echo chamber effect (and how it turns you into a recluse)

That's sheeple. Does that look familiar to you?
(Photo credit: hermetic hermit)

MLM is all about your "team", team spirit and camaraderie, don't let the team down, we'll be there for you, blah blah blah.

But have you ever considered the NEGATIVE effects of a team environment?  (Or is that merely "negativity" to be avoided?)

When you are in a social group such as a team, clan, whatever, you automatically try to fit in. You will conform yourself to the team, just as the team will conform to you. You will all have to same position, same opinion, etc. You may have differences in minor details, but you will go along on the "big stuff".

You are suffering from the "echo chamber effect", because you only hang out with people that you think have similar ideology to yours. Your ideas are echoing back to you, and other people's ideas are passing through you, and being echoed back to them. Soon everybody think alike, and like seeks like. Such things does NOT happen when you have a mix of people holding opposite views and have a nice proper discussion of the issues.

The advent of internet only made it EASIER for like to seek like. You can find all sorts of bull**** on the Internet nowadays, and forums hosting such. If you can't find one, start one yourself. People will agree on absurd topics such as "ISIS has infiltrated every church in America" to "school shootings were staged with shill mourners".

After a while in the echo chamber, you will suppress your own thoughts because you reasoned that the your group would never accept your "anti-group" thoughts. That's known as the Semmelweis Reflex.

That's fine when the ideas are logical and proper, but when they are not, it can be very dangerous.

Scammers have understood this for a long time. They are out seeking sheeple who hadn't gotten wise to the schemes, esp. when the scheme caters to one of an universal wants: trying to make one's life better.  However, scammers will pervert such wants into feeding your fears and sell you a bogus solution.