Don’t buy into the fraud

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Nobody wants to be a fraud victim, but many are. Health frauds – fake cures or treatments – feed on people’s natural desire for an easy fix to a health problem that might not have an easy fix. And, at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Deputy Commissioner Howard Sklamberg notes that, despite their promise to make a condition better, health frauds can wind up making things worse:

“Health fraud scams can do more than waste your money. They can cause serious injury or even death. Using unproven treatments can delay getting a potentially lifesaving diagnosis, and medication that actually works.”

Sklamberg says the fraudulent products also can contain hidden drug ingredients that can harm people’s health when they take them without knowing.

You can check with your health care provider before you buy.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.