Protecting Yourself Against Health Fraud

• Claims That Can be Made for Conventional Foods and Dietary Supplements March 2001
• Fake Food Fight (economic adulteration of food) March-April 1999
• Tips for the Savvy Supplement User: Making Informed Decisions FDA Consumer March-April 2002

Other Information from FDA

• Agencies Team Up in War Against Internet Health Fraud September-October 2001
• An FDA Guide to Choosing Medical Treatments June 1995
• Buying Diagnostic Tests From the Internet: Buyer Beware! October 2001
• Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online
• Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online - Advice From Other Organizations
• FDA/State AIDS Health Fraud Task Forces June 2001
• How to Spot Health Fraud November-December 1999
• Reporting Unlawful Sales of Foods/Drugs/Supplements/Cosmetics on the Internet
• The Truth About Choosing Medical Treatments May 2000
• 'Six-Pack Abs' Electronically? July-August 2002

Information from Other Federal Government Agencies

• Administration on Aging
  • Consumer Protection Tips October 2003
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly the Health Care Financing Administration
  • Tips to Help Prevent Fraud
• Department of Health and Human Services Healthfinder
  • Fraud
• National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicines (NCCAM)
  • Bioterrorism and Complementary & Alternative Medicines
• Federal Trade Commission
  • Can Anti-Snoring Claims Be Cause for Alarm? March 2001
  • Consumer Complaint Form
  • Diet, Health and Fitness Publications
  • Offers to Treat Biological Threats: What You Need to Know October 2001
  • "Operation Cure-all" Targets Internet Health Fraud June 1999
  • I lost $357 in 2 weeks! Ask me how. Red Flag: Bogus Weight Loss Claims
  • Telemarketing
  • Avoiding the Muscle Hustle: Tips for Buying Exercise Equipment
• National Institute on Aging
  • Health Quackery: Spotting Health Scams
• National Library of Medicine
  • Health Fraud (MEDLINEplus)
• United States Postal Inspection Service
  • Mail Fraud Complaint Form
  • Characteristics of Telemarketing Fraud Schemes
  • Consumer Fraud By Phone or Mail, May 2003 (available in PDF*)
  • Fraudulent Health and Medical Products
  • Mail Fraud Targets Young Consumers, May 1995 (available in PDF*)

*PDF Readers are available for free from the Adobe Acrobat web site.