“ALERT: When the news grabs you before the coffee does — and the scam ad follows.”
A 3 AM Wake-Up Alert (Literally)
It was 3 AM, and I couldn't sleep. You know how it goes—tossing, turning, finally giving up and reaching for my phone. That's when I saw it while scrolling through The Oklahoman's website:
"Declining Memory Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?"
It wasn’t just one sketchy headline — it was a whole carousel of come-on ads. Pink salt miracles, vinegar cures, memory loss panic, all stacked like a digital carnival of fear and false hope for any problem in life you might have.
Right there, sandwiched between articles about pink salt weight loss and vinegar being the "enemy of blood sugar," with that stock photo of an elderly man looking worried.
My first thought? "A common habit?" I immediately wondered if it was something mundane like nose-picking or sniffing food to check if it's gone bad—you know, those weird little things we all do without thinking.
I KNEW it was one of those kinds of articles. The warning bells were already ringing. But you know what? Curiosity killed the cat, and I had to click to verify my suspicions.
That's when the real alarm bells started ringing. The page wouldn't load properly—just errors and redirects. So I did what any reasonable insomniac does: I asked Claude (an AI assistant) to investigate.
And what we discovered together made me realize I needed to write this blog—not just for me, but for everyone, especially seniors who are losing over $1 billion every year to scams just like this one.
Why This Matters: The Real Cost
Here's what really grabbed my attention and made me want to write this: Older adults lost over $1 billion to financial scams in 2020, with an average loss of $9,000 per victim.
Think about that. $9,000. That's not pocket change. That's:
Months of medication
A year of groceries
Emergency home repairs
Helping a grandchild with college
Your peace of mind
And scammers are specifically targeting seniors with health concerns—people who are worried about their memory, their independence, their future. They prey
on fear and hope in equal measure.
That's why I'm writing this. Not because I'm some expert, but because at 3 AM, in a moment of insomnia and vulnerability, I almost became a statistic.
How I Knew It Was a Scam (And How You Can Too)
Even before I clicked, I had that gut feeling. Here's what my instincts picked up on—and what you should watch for too:
🚩 Red Flag #1: The Vague, Fear-Based Headline
"Declining Memory Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?"
Notice what's missing? Any actual information. It's all fear and curiosity:
"Declining memory" = your worst fear about aging
"Common habit" = wait, something I do every day could be hurting me?
"Do you do it?" = now it's personal
Compare this to a legitimate headline: "Study Links Poor Sleep to Memory Decline" or "Smoking Associated with Cognitive Decline." Real news tells you what the habit IS. Scams make you click to find out.
🚩 Red Flag #2: The Dangerous Click
The URL was absurdly long—over 1,000 characters of tracking code. But here's what's truly scary: just clicking these links can expose you to further scams. Legitimate articles don't need to track every breath you take. These tracking links follow you around the internet, building a profile of your vulnerabilities. They learn what scares you, what interests you, and they sell that information to other scammers.
That click could lead to:
Your email being added to scam lists
Targeted phishing attempts
Your browsing data being sold
More aggressive advertising
Potential malware on some sites
This is why older adults are losing billions. One click at 3 AM can snowball into months of harassment and financial loss.
🚩 Red Flag #3: The Company It Keeps
I can't for copyright reasons give you the screenshot - but this is my version of how it looked- we have all seen the come on ads when doing web searches on news sites. The "declining memory" ad is surrounded by:
"Obesity Expert: She Mixed Pink Salt With This - Now She Can't Stop Losing Weight"
"Vinegar: The Greatest Enemy Of Blood Sugar"
"Never Borrow From the Bank If You Own a Home - Do This Instead"
Legitimate health journalism doesn't hang out with pink salt weight loss miracles. Birds of a feather flock together—and scams cluster together on the same ad networks.
🚩 Red Flag #4: The Stock Photo
That worried elderly man? He's not a real patient. He's a stock photo model who appears on hundreds of scam sites. Legitimate medical articles use real research photos, doctor headshots, or no photos at all. Scammers use emotional stock photos to manipulate your feelings.
🚩 Red Flag #5: Fake Expert Names
The "doctors" quoted in these articles—Dr. Will Mitchell, Dr. Karise Simmons, Dr. Hank Western—appear on multiple scam sites selling different products. Try Googling them. They don't exist in any medical database or university directory.
🚩 Red Flag #6: Scientific Word Salad
These scams throw around terms like "neural plasticity," "hippocampal enhancement," and "mitochondrial optimization" to sound smart. They make you feel like you're not educated enough to question them. Real science explains things clearly. Scams use jargon to confuse and impress you—and to make you feel foolish for asking questions.
When someone loses $9,000, it's often because they were too embarrassed to ask "Is this real?" Don't let pride cost you.
What They're Really Selling
Once you click through the maze of tracking links, you'll eventually land on a page selling:
Overpriced supplements (often just vitamins you can get for $10 at the drugstore)
"Memory programs" with recurring charges buried in the terms
Books or courses that promise "Einstein's secret"
Sometimes, they're just harvesting your email and credit card information
The average victim loses $9,000 to these schemes. Older adults are specifically targeted because they're more likely to worry about memory loss.
The Real Einstein Connection
Here's the ironic truth: Einstein's brain was studied after his death, and scientists found it had more glial cells and neural connections than average. Einstein’s brilliance wasn’t bottled — it was born. His brain had unique structural traits, not the result of some secret formula or supplement, though a lifetime of curiosity surely kept it well exercised.
Your brain health depends on:
Diet: Mediterranean diet (olive oil, fish, vegetables, whole grains)
Exercise: Both physical and cognitive
Sleep: 7-9 hours consistently
Social connection: Meaningful relationships
Stress management: Not buying into scam-induced anxiety
None of these come in a pill. All of them are free or low-cost.
How to Protect Yourself
Before you click:
Check the URL. Is it from a legitimate news source or a random site?
Google the headline + "scam" to see if others have reported it
Ask yourself: "Is this too good to be true?"
Remember: If Einstein had a memory miracle, it would be taught in medical schools, not sold through clickbait ads
If you already clicked:
Don't enter any personal information
Don't provide credit card details
Close the tab/window immediately
Run a malware scan if you're concerned
Mark the ad as spam/misleading if possible
For legitimate brain health:
Talk to your actual doctor (not Dr. Fake Name from the internet)
Check reputable sources: Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, NIH, Alzheimer's Association
Be skeptical of anything sold through fear-mongering
The Bottom Line: Protecting Yourself and Your $9,000
Scammers exploit our very real, very valid concerns about aging, memory, and staying sharp. They wait for vulnerable moments—like 3 AM insomnia—when our defenses are down. They dress up their schemes in the clothes of science and urgency.
The $1 billion question: Will you be part of that statistic, or will you pause, think critically, and protect yourself?
The best defense? Slow down. Think critically. Remember that if Einstein really had a secret memory trick, it wouldn't be advertised between celebrity gossip and "one weird tip" articles.
Your brain deserves better than snake oil. Your $9,000 deserves to stay in your bank account. And your future deserves to be protected from predators in digital clothing.
Next time you can't sleep and reach for your phone, remember this: that click could cost you everything. Make it count for something good instead.
Have you encountered a similar scam? Have you or a loved one lost money to one of these schemes? Share your experience in the comments—your story might save someone else's life savings.
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