[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: Caught in a trap.
>> It was supposed to
be for free and now I'm
enrolled in something.
>> Asha: Thousands of
Canadians tricked by
free trials.
>> These companies are scammers
and they need to be shut down.
>> Asha: And we'll show you
why this Dragon thinks 'free' is
now a four letter word.
>> That's just pure
opportunistic [ Bleep ].
>> Asha: We go
searching for answers.
This is your Marketplace.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> So you've got three,
I got three.
>> Asha: We're about
to unbox a scam.
>> Ultimate moisture.
>> Geez, it's not that
big though is it?
>> Asha: These little samples of
anti- aging cream are supposed
to be free for us to try.
>> It says-- this is
one that Ashley did.
Rejuva LumaEssence
and RejuvaEssence.
>> Asha: But as you'll see,
they're going to cost us
hundreds of dollars.
>> That's anti wrinkle
cream and they gave me
anti wrinkle serum.
What's the difference
between a serum and a cream,
do you know?
>> Asha: And they'll lead
us into a sketchy world of
online marketing,
that has Canadians
everywhere feeling ripped off.
>> I am outraged at this
company's poor business ethics.
>> Asha: You can't
say 'buyer beware' either.
Because they didn't know
they were buying anything.
>> I was under the
impression there was a free
trial offer available.
>> Asha: A sophisticated scheme
that hides the fine print and
targets your credit card.
>> If there's ever a
class action lawsuit against
these people, count me in.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: It was and Bobcaygeon
that Jan Baird fell for it.
>> I know you don't
want to go swimming, do you?
Look at it, shimmering.
>> Asha: She with her wife,
Karen, is among more than
25,000 people who have
complained to either us or
the Better Business Bureau
about skin care scams.
>> I used to swim in a lot
colder water than I do now.
>> Asha: For Jan, it all
started with her love of
Ellen DeGeneres.
>> I was on Facebook and Ellen
popped out and it said that
Ellen was gone away.
>> Asha: She's talking
about an article,
supposedly from People Magazine.
It claims Ellen is leaving
her show to promote a
new skin cream.
And that leads to
this chance to try it out.
>> Free trial,
send away, free trial,
doesn't cost anything.
Normally I wouldn't
even think about that
but my dermatologist
said I have very dry skin,
so I have been thinking
about more moisturizing.
I thought, great I
can do it for free,
so I sent it in.
>> Asha: Jan uses her credit
card to pay about five bucks in
shipping charges and gets
herself some HydroLuxe to
help with the dryness.
But the free trial
doesn't end there.
>> And then I got the third
one and that's when I thought,
oh something's wrong here,
so that is when I checked my
Visa more closely.
Then I started seeing
charges for $161, $154...
and there's more.
>> Asha: Somehow, Jan had
signed up for monthly skin
cream subscriptions.
>> You like my
little calculator?
>> Asha: She didn't mean
to and she's still not sure
how much she's out.
So we ask her to add it up.
The bottom line is astounding.
>> $1,682.53.
That's a lot.
That's crazy.
How did it get to that?
>> Asha: And she
thought it was a free trial,
thanks to Ellen.
>> We found out about
this fake endorsement bull,
because a few weeks
ago viewers started writing into
the show.
>> Asha: Other skin creams are
using other celebrities without
permission and no one
seems able to stop it.
>> There's this skincare
company that we can't really
locate so they're,
like, really fly-by-night.
And people are getting these
ads saying that I'm leaving
The View.
>> So far, what we've found,
there are at least eight
websites that have used
Robin's name and image to
promote multiple
skincare products.
>> Asha: Even one
of CBC's very own,
Arlene Dickinson from
Dragon's Den has been linked to
these skincare scams.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: We catch up
with an angry Arlene on a
backstage break.
>> I'm sorry-- you know, like,
I don't call people slimy and
fraudulent without purpose.
These people are frauds.
>> Asha: She's best known,
of course, for helping out
entrepreneurs on Dragon's Den.
>> I actually would
like to make you an offer.
>> Please.
>> I'll give you
exactly what you want.
>> That's great.
Thank you.
>> Asha: Some of the people
running these face cream schemes
think that
they're entrepreneurs.
What do you say to that?
>> They're not entrepreneurs.
They're shysters.
They're-- they're hucksters.
They're complete--
that is not entrepreneurial.
That's just pure
opportunistic [ Bleep ].
>> Asha: What upsets her most is
that so many Canadians are being
duped in her name.
Including a viewer
who lost nearly $400.
She goes on to say, "The culprit
had use the Dragon's Den
"as bait.
"I was thus led to believe in
the offer having watched many
"episodes of this program,
and especially trusted the
"integrity of Kevin O'Leary
and Arlene Dickinson.
"It would appear that they
endorsed and continue to endorse
"the products."
What do you think of that?
>> It's heartbreaking.
It's horrible.
I actually felt physically sick
when I was reading these letters
because they
believed it because of me
and I had nothing to do with it.
>> Asha: I don't know if
you want to take a look.
This is the  RejuvaEssence
instant wrinkle eraser.
We show Arlene one of the
creams we purchased that's
linked to Dragon's Den
in its advertising.
She's not impressed.
>> What the heck
is coming out of that?
Oh my goodness.
It's got, like, crystals in it.
Oh, that's disgusting.
>> Asha: She's hoping we
have more luck than her in
finding the bad guys.
>> I have talked to our lawyer
and they did everything.
They can't find these people.
They're changing addresses,
they're changing locations,
they-- even their website is
changed on a regular basis.
So there's, they--
they're slick.
>> Asha: So who
exactly are they?
Who's pushing all these face
creams online and creating all
those fake ads?
If celebrities with deep
pockets can't find out,
what chance have we got?
Our research takes us
back a decade to this guy.
Jesse Willms from a
suburb of Edmonton.
Willms made a name and a fortune
for himself at a very young age.
Through free trial offers
of weight loss products,
teeth whiteners, and deception.
>> Mr Willms and his companies
were advertising these products
as free trials, when, in fact,
they were soliciting sensitive
personal information
from people,
including credit
card information,
and unwittingly committing
people to ongoing subscriptions.
>> Asha: Sound familiar?
US authorities
eventually sued Willms.
He agreed to pay a staggering
settlement of $359 million.
But more than that,
Willms helped pioneer a way of
doing business online
that others are still using 
to scam Canadians.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: Along with free trials,
it uses something called
affiliate marketing.
Here's how it works.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: If you've got
something to sell on the
Internet, like face cream,
you're known as a merchant.
But with so much competition,
it's hard to get anyone to
notice your product.
Solution?
You hire affiliate marketers.
These are people who agree
to promote your product on
their websites, blogs and
through Internet advertising.
The best part is, you don't
have to pay affiliates unless
they get someone to
buy what you're selling.
But that's also the tricky
part because affiliates want
to get paid.
Merchants want to sell.
And there's lots
of money to be made.
That combination can lead to
some questionable practices.
>> I had no idea that I was to
cancel this subscription because
no one told me that
I had a subscription.
>> I had no explanation
for the charges, I have
no way to return the product.
And I'm on the hook!
>> These companies are scammers
and they need to be shut down.
>> Asha: Here's another
way they do it.
With fake consumer surveys,
using real company names,
like Costco, Air Canada,
and Rogers.
>> Well, I was just
checking my e-mail and then,
all of a sudden,
this Rogers survey popped up.
>> Asha: It sure
seems convincing...
>> Well, it knows that
I'm a Rogers customer.
It knows that I'm from Toronto.
>> Asha: The survey wants
Julie Gallagher's opinion about
Rogers' service and is offering
her a reward for giving it.
>> Question one of six.
Have you had Rogers cable
service for over six months?
>> Asha: The survey, in fact,
is the result of malicious
software and an internet
marketer who wants to trick
Julie into signing
up for face cream.
>> Have you ever had a call to
Rogers cable technical support
due to a problem?
>> Asha: Julie, though, is our
producer's wife and familiar
with this scam.
They capture it in realtime.
>> Now they're
submitting my answers.
Searching offer inventory.
Anti- aging cream.
>> Asha: Julie picks the
anti-aging cream for her reward.
>> Regular price is $139.95 but
today's price is zero dollars.
All I have to pay is
shipping at $4.95.
>> Asha: She ends
up at a website.
This is the merchant now that
wants her credit card info to
pay for shipping but
nowhere does it mention
a monthly subscription.
Not unless you scroll way down
to the bottom and click on the
terms and conditions.
>> Every 30 days we will send
you a fresh 30 day supply of
Bonté advanced wrinkle
cream and charge you
$89.97 plus $6.95
shipping and handling.
It was supposed be for free and
now I'm enrolled in something.
>> Asha: To give you an
idea just how lucrative this
scheme is, check out
this website...BizProfits,
and all these free trial
offers for face creams.
BizProfits is one of many
places where merchants can show
affiliates which products they
want promoted and how much
they'll pay in commission.
$30, $40, $50.
Every time an affiliate
convinces one of us to go to
the merchant's page
and sign up for a free trial.
Think about that.
Merchants are paying affiliates
40 bucks to get us to pay
just five bucks
in shipping fees.
It doesn't add up.
Unless the merchants are pretty
sure they'll get hundreds of
dollars more out of us.
Perhaps by hiding the truth
of what's really going on.
As we dig deeper,
we finally track down one of the
merchants and one of the places
where some of this begins.
>> Right here,
on my trusty laptop,
that's where the magic
happens you could say.
>> Asha: Chad Hamzeh is a
full-time internet marketer who
claims to make a
lot of money doing it.
>> I personally am myself
a multiple six-figure a
year earner.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: He's a former
mixed martial artist,
fighting here in Thailand.
Where he also first
studied online marketing.
And before that,
he ran for mayor of Calgary.
>> I am the youngest
candidate and really going for
the sex appeal, really going
for that sort of thing.
Quite honestly--
sex appeal, that's what I said.
>> Asha: Now Hamzeh's 
living in California,
selling this face cream online.
The same one we showed
Arlene from Dragon's Den.
>> Well, what I first
thought-- I thought, ooh,
this is going to be--
I'll just call my lawyer.
My lawyer will shut it down.
But they just said, "We can't
even find them."
>> Asha: But we can.
Our search takes us from
face cream to face time.
Will you do an on camera
interview with us?
This is your
Marketplace.
Got a story you think
we should investigate?
E-mail us at
marketplace@cbc.ca.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: Unboxing a scam.
Down there, in the suburbs
of San Diego, California,
is a man we want to
talk to but he doesn't want
to talk to us.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: We don't
normally travel so far without
an appointment.
For this guy, though,
we have a lot of questions.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: Chad Hamzeh
sells anti-aging cream online.
Something called
RejuvaEssence.
It's the way he does it that's
the issue and a lot of Canadians
have lost a lot of money.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: We've asked Hamzeh
for an interview and six times,
he's said no.
>> I think there's some
movement up there.
>> Asha: By the garage.
So now, we're in
his neighbourhood,
hoping to catch up with him.
>> And the
products were these.
>> Asha: Judy Meyer,
from Aurora, Ontario,
is one of Hamzeh's
unhappy customers.
>> I got caught up in a scam
after ordering a skin product
that was advertised on
my Facebook homepage.
>> Asha: Her story is
like so many others.
A trial offer turns
into a trying ordeal.
With consumers out
hundreds of dollars before
realizing they're trapped
in a subscription scheme.
>> And because I ordered the
sample and didn't cancel
my subscription, they sent
me three more samples and
then charged my
MasterCard for about $400.
>> Asha: We want
to see for ourselves...
[ ♪♪ ]
>> It says the original
price is $74.95.
>> Asha: .. and order several
different creams including
Chad Hamzeh's product,
RejuvaEssence.
You can see here
the price says free.
Just $3.95 for shipping
and no sign of an expensive
monthly subscription.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: But within weeks,
strange charges are popping up
on our MasterCard statement.
ND Ventures, LLC, $120.75.
Smoothrenewal skin car...
$136.03.
>> Thank you for
calling RejuvaEssence.
>> Asha: We managed to locate
a customer service number for
Hamzeh's company and try
calling for an explanation.
I have to say, it's unclear
that after the free trial
that you get these
charges on your credit card.
When you're
signing up it doesn't say that.
At least, not anywhere
that I was looking.
Where is it?
Oh, yeah, that page.
Buried at the bottom in a
link that so many miss.
We're down the street from
Chad Hamzeh's house in
San Diego.
His place is just
up there on the left.
He's not the only one running
this sort of skincare scheme.
>> Was that him?
>> Asha: But he's a player.
And a former affiliate marketer.
And a Canadian whose business
has upset a lot of others.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: In a lengthy
e-mail exchange, Hamzeh has told
us he always lists the billing
terms on RejuvaEssence
checkout page.
And he says it is up to
consumers to read the terms of
any subscription offer.
But when we send these
screenshots of his checkout page
showing the lack of any
clear and conspicuous terms,
he says he never
would have approved it.
Hamzeh also says affiliate
marketers are to blame for the
methods used to
promote his product.
Like those fake
Dragon's Den endorsements.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: We want to know why
Hamzeh thinks he's so blameless
in all of this and
decide it's time
to knock on his door.
Hi, Chad?
>> Yeah.
>> Asha: I'm Asha Tomlinson
with CBC Marketplace.
>> Hey.
>> Asha: This is my producer,
Greg, you've e-mailed him
back and forth
for the last couple of weeks.
>> Yeah.
>> Asha: And that's
our cameraman, Dave,
the cameras are rolling.
I just wanted to let you know.
>> Okay.
>> Asha: And we've
come a long way.
>> You have, yeah.
>> Asha: To ask you will you do
and on camera interview with us
about RejuvaEssence and
the complaints behind it?
>> No, I mean does we discussed
that in e-mail, sorry.
And, I mean, it's-- we discussed
on e-mail all about that,
so I don't see any
point in discussing further.
I mean, Greg, you know
my opinion on it already.
>> Yes.
>> Asha: There were a lot of
Canadians who have been out 
hundreds of dollars because they
thought they were signing up for
a free trial.
What do you say to those people,
those Canadians, who are really
angry and we keep
hearing from them?
>> Well, I mean...like, I don't
really have a comment on it
other than, you know,
we've explained that we have--
sorry, my kids are here.
The terms and everything
on the page and what not.
>> Would you like
to come outside?
>> No, I'm good, guys,
thank you.
>> Asha: Okay.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: Hamzeh says his
kids are inside, so we back off.
And exchange more e-mails
about a possible interview,
but he won't agree.
Hamzeh tells us he's
getting out of the business.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> If 'm not authorizing
these purchases, why is
MasterCard charging me?
>> Asha: Why don't credit card
companies do more to shut down
the scam?
This is your Marketplace.
Get more Marketplace.
Sign-up for our
weekly newsletter at
cbc.ca/marketplace.
>> Asha: The real deal
on your Marketplace.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: Jan Baird is calling
her credit card company.
>> Good afternoon,
welcome to TD credit card...
>> Asha: Hoping for a
little help after losing a lot
of money.
>> I ordered a free trial of two
different skin car products and
then they started sending me
more and charging me and I
didn't know that
was going to happen.
>> Asha: She's out 1600
bucks and she's not alone.
>> Are you getting a
lot of calls about this?
That's what I thought.
>> Asha: Jan wishes
the same thing.
Seems no matter who you ask,
the credit card companies won't
do much.
Even though these schemes
are considered deceptive and
fraudulent under the law.
>> If I'm not authorizing
these purchases,
why is MasterCard charging me?
They should be taking legal
action against these scammers
and the sooner the better.
>> What I am also really miffed
at is the turning a blind eye by
the credit card companies which
directly or indirectly aids and
abets these scams.
>> Asha: Arlene Dickinson,
whose image is being used
without permission
to promote some of these creams,
thinks credit card companies
could and should shut it down.
>> While it's not their fault,
they can stop it.
So my request to
them is to stop it.
Stop letting them charge on
credit cards through the system.
Maybe that's too simplistic,
but that seems like the solution
to me.
Or a solution.
>> Asha: We try MasterCard
to ask about the charges we got
after ordering our free trials.
>> How do I dispute this?
>> Asha: They tell us we
should have read the fine print.
>> So just out of curiosity,
have you ever looked at these
websites yourself?
>> I have gone on a lot
of these websites myself, yes.
>> Did you notice how buried
those terms and conditions are?
>> I certainly understand
they can have them in difficult
places to see
and whatnot, unfortunately,
it is the merchant--
the terms and conditions are
there for you to view.
>> So you're saying,
if they exist somewhere,
then it's my responsibility to
find them at the bottom hidden
in a little thing?
>> Unfortunately, yeah,
that is your responsibility.
>> Asha: They tell their
customers to read the terms
instead of telling their
merchants to stop burying them.
We ask MasterCard several
times for an interview but
they declined.
So we show up at their
headquarters with a suggestion.
Like on this mock checkout page.
Right where you enter your info?
Credit card companies could
insist that merchants tell you
exactly what you're signing up
for and what you'll be charged.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: There we go.
Let's go show them our idea.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Asha: At MasterCard
headquarters, though,
they still don't
want to talk.
So we drop off our suggestion.
And a bunch of face
cream they never ordered.
RejuvaEssence and
some Hydraluxe.
Package delivered.
[ ♪♪ ]
>> Charlsie: Busting super
foods.
Super seeds, super greens,
super foods.
>> Well, it makes me
stop and read the label.
>> Charlsie: Too good
to be true.
Lower cholesterol,
prevents cancer.
>> Whoa whoa whoa whoa.
>> Charlsie: Reduces risk
of Alzheimer's.
>> Companies are using the
word superfood without any
scientific base.
>> Charlsie: We put them
to the test.
>> If you are going to
advertise it, it should
be regulated.
>> Charlsie: Is this
misleading consumers?
Prevents cancer?
[ ♪♪ ]
[ ♪♪ ]
