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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 18, 2025 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: addiction recovery, drug rehab ( 3 ), Google ( 33 ), Scams ( 1,510 ), search engine scam ( 2 )   

  Fake Rehab Ads Mislead the Vulnerable 

  

  By Greg Collier

  A recent enforcement action by the Federal Trade Commission has brought renewed attention to the risks involved in relying on internet search results when looking for critical services, especially in times of vulnerability. The case centered on an addiction treatment center accused of deceiving people searching for help with substance abuse. The alleged misconduct underscores the importance of verifying the legitimacy of online information before acting on it.

  According to the FTC, the company involved placed search ads on Google that mimicked the names of other well-known treatment centers. When individuals in crisis called the number shown in these ads, they were connected to a call center that misrepresented itself as the treatment provider they had searched for. The goal, according to federal regulators, was to steer potential patients toward the company’s own facilities under false pretenses.

  This behavior is particularly troubling given the context. Substance abuse treatment is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States. With so much money at stake, the temptation for unethical marketing practices appears to be growing.

  This case serves as both a resolution and a warning. Deceptive online advertising is not just a nuisance, it can directly affect the lives of people seeking urgent and often life-saving services.

  As this case illustrates, not all search results are created equal. Paid advertisements may not always lead to trustworthy providers. Consumers are encouraged to take extra steps to confirm they are contacting the business they intended to reach. That includes checking beyond the first results on a search engine and verifying contact details through official sources.

  The lesson is clear. While internet searches offer speed and convenience, they also carry risks. In matters as serious as addiction treatment, extra care is not only advisable but essential.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 15, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: addiction recovery, body brokers ( 2 ), drug rehab ( 3 ), healthcare ( 43 ), insurance fraud ( 6 ), Scams ( 1,510 )   

  Addiction centers are still scamming patients 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Having a family member with a substance abuse problem is one of the worst experiences in life to go through. Just getting them to admit that they have a problem is a monumental step on the road to recovery. But what then? Some people choose to admit themselves to an addiction center, more commonly known as rehab. But which one? Should they stay local or go to one out of state? Should they go to one of the addiction centers advertised on daytime TV? Well, before you answer any of those questions, you should probably know about how people suffering with addiction are often scammed into entering a fraudulent program.

  Two men from Massachusetts were recently arrested for allegedly committing insurance fraud by recruiting recovering addicts into poorly run addiction centers. The pair is accused of signing up their victims to treatment centers in Florida, where the patients would receive little to no actual treatment. The men are also accused of opening insurance policies in their victims names and collecting kickbacks from the insurance claims the treatment center filed. Sometimes the insurance policies would go unpaid, which would result in the victim being put out on the street hundreds of miles from home. One of the men is even said to have recruited his victims from local recovery meetings in Massachusetts.

  Unfortunately, this is not a new type of scam. These recruiters are known as body brokers and have been doing this for a while. In past instances, some patients were even paid to relapse, so the addiction centers could continue to bill the insurance companies.

  As with any life-changing decision, take the time to do the research on any facilities you or a loved one may be considering. Do a web search with the name of the facility and the word complaint to see how previous patients felt like they were treated. The Better Business Bureau website is also a great resource for trying to separate the scammers from the legitimate facilities.

   
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  Geebo 8:01 am on October 8, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: addiction recovery, body brokers ( 2 ), drug rehab ( 3 ), healthcare ( 43 ), opioid crsis, patient brokers, Scams ( 1,510 )   

  Are opioid addiction centers just a racket? 

  

  If you’ve ever watched daytime TV for any length of time recently, you’ve probably seen commercials for various addiction treatment centers. They seem to make a lot of promises to get you or a loved one off of opioids thanks to the opioid crisis that has plagued our country. Many of them tout the benefits of their treatment programs over others or they try to use scare tactics to get you to use their facility. A number among them even boast their facility by the beach is what’s best for recovering addicts. While drug addiction is one of the hardest personal battles someone can fight, too many of these recovery centers are nothing more than fronts for insurance fraud.

  Many patients are being lured to these facilities with the promises of free airline tickets and money by people called ‘patient brokers’. Instead of receiving treatment, patients will receive little to no treatment while the facilities bill health insurance companies for charges that never occurred. Some patients will even be paid to relapse so the facilities can continue to commit insurance fraud. Florida was a hotspot for this kind of activity until the state passed anti-kickback laws to not only try to prevent this kind of fraud but gave investigators more authority to crack down on these facilities. Florida is just one state as many of these facilities have opened up all over the country.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou6gYRKhnn0%5D

  A lot of these facilities take advantage of addicts and their families because in many cases the families or patients affected are too embarrassed to go to their doctor for proper rehab recommendations. There is no shame in wanting to recover from addiction. However, if you give in to shame, you or your loved one could end up in a revolving door of addiction thanks to these facilities. That’s the best-case scenario with the worst-case scenarios being that they could end up in prison or the morgue. Like any life-changing decision, take the time to research any facility that you or someone from your family could be housed in.