Dating With Herpes.org

Herpes Treatment Scams, Herpes Cure Scams, and Herpes Spam

Unfortunately, there are many dishonest people and companies out there who prey upon people with genital herpes and other STD’s.  Many people are desperate to find anything that might reduce or eliminate herpes symptoms – and fall for herpes treatment scams and herpes cure scams. Since most people’s herpes symptoms will go away within a few days or a few weeks even without ANY treatment, patients may erroneously assume that it’s because of one of these bogus herpes products.

There are herpes cure scams, herpes treatment scams, herpes dating scams, and other herpes scams.  Some of these scams are cleverly disguised as “truth” backed up by “research” or “personal testimony” such as message board posts, links and comments from people who are posing as if they are “regular people” who just want to pass on their positive experience with a particular product or service.  Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to tell the difference between scammers and real people, or to discern online charlatans from real doctors or experts. Also, some people and some sites – post both good information and bad information or sponsored information that is not identified as such.  Don’t be fooled!  Here are some of the most common Herpes Scams

FDA issues Warnings re: STD treatment Scams

Dynamiclear Scam & Global Herbal Supplies

Prior to Dynamiclear, Global Herbal Supplies, an Australia-based company that makes and markets herbal remedies, manufactured and marketed a topical herpes treatment called “Choraphor”. In July 2006, the FDA issued a warning letter to the makers of Choraphor (Global Herbal Supplies) due to their practice of making false and misleading marketing claims about Choraphor that you can read by clicking this link.  In May 2007, Global Herbal Supplies changed the formula of Choraphor and changed its name to Dynamiclear. Unfortunately, since Global Herbal Supplies is based in Australia, not the US, it is hard for the FDA to enforce its warnings against non-US companies who make misleading or deceptive marketing claims. NOTE: The Bellevue, WA address that the FDA used to send the officlal warning letter to Choraphor was that of a Domain Name Privacy Service that “cloaks” the name and contact information of the real owners of domain names. It is the same Domain Name Privacy Service and address currently used by Herpes-Coldsores.com if you try to look up their “whois”domain name ownership record.  The domain name “Choraphor,com” no longer uses a Domain Name Privacy Service and is owned by someone living in the UK (United Kingdom) whose ties to Global Herbal Supplies we have not determined.  We were able to trace Choraphor  and Herpes-Coldsores.com back to Global Herbal Supplies via other methods – see Internet Archive Wayback Machine notes below..  The Choraphor.com website is still up and running and lists a San Francisco address and phone number which were those for Adelson’s Answer & Voice Mail Service at 760 Market Street, Suite 315, San Francisco, CA 94102.  Of course, Global Herbal Supplies is located in Australia, and any US-based Domain Name Privacy Service, Phone Answering Service, or PO Box Service is not responsible for being used by Global Herbal Supplies to make it ”look like” they had a real physical presence in the USA.

Dynamiclear is an herbal topical solution that incorrectly claims to be “clinically proven” in “Phase III clinical trials” to reduce the duration of genital herpes and cold sore outbreaks.  The folks behind Dynamiclear, Global Herbal Supplies - commissioned a clinical research study that has been mislabeled as a “Phase III clinical trial” – but this study never met the recognized standards of a “Phase III” clinical trial, with only 149 subjects and no double-blind testing. If such a research study was submitted for official review as a “Phase III” clinical trial, it would be dimissed by any respected medical establishment. In this study, they compared a one-time application of Dynamiclear (a liquid) to an a comparator product – a 5X per day application of a cream containing Acyclovir – which is not the “standard of care” treatment for genital herpes.  In a research ”summary” posted on Dynamiclear’s site, they claim that testing against a placebo (i.e. water) would have had a “soothing” effect and was therefore discarded.  But only a well-done, randomized, double-blind clinical test comparing their product to a placebo would show whether or not using Dynamiclear would be better or worse than using nothing at all.  Basically, the design of this study was flawed and was not a “Phase III” clinical study and the results did not prove efficacy.   Click here for more info why Dynamiclear’s commissioned research study did not meet the widely recognized standards for a legitmate ”Phase III” clinical trial as they claim.

Dynamiclear’s website mentions that Dynamiclear is “FDA approved” but offers no evidence to back this up.  Anyone can “register” a product with the FDA, but that doesn’t mean that the FDA has validated it’s effectiveness.  Even if Global Herbal Supplies could show “FDA approval”, it should be noted that FDA approval only means that a product is “safe” – it does NOT mean that a product is actually effective as a medical treatment. For instance, Rubbing Alcohol may be ”FDA approved” – meaning that it is “safe” if used as directed, but that does NOT mean that it is an effective herpes treatment. See the difference? The ingredients of Dynamiclear may be not be harmful, but none of the ingredients in their product have actually been “clinically proven”, as falsely claimed, to actually do anything to reduce the occurrence or speed the healing of herpes or cold sores.  Most people’s sores will go away without ANY treatment within a few days to a few weeks.  Therefore, many people may incorrectly attribute their healing to Dynamiclear. People are spending a lot of money on Dynamiclear  - and really want to believe that it works.  At best, it does no harm - except to your pocketbook.

Dynamiclear also recommends that you take their expensive “Combined Lysine Formula” as part of their recommended treatment regimen. Lysine can be purchased for much cheaper from  many other sources.  Lysine is NOT an ingredient in Dynamiclear.  But they recommend taking Lysine in addition to using Dynamiclear.  Lysine is the only substance in their recommended protocol that has been shown  in studies to reduce herpes symptoms in some patients.  Combining other treatments like Lysine with Dynamiclear further “muddies” any results you may have – you won’t know which substance was responsible for your results, or if doing nothing at all would have the same result.  Most of us are not scientists, so it’s easy to misinterpret the scientific-sounding language that you will find on Dynamiclear’s website.

Click here for more information on how Dynamiclear makes misleading claims as a herpes treatment.   http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Dynamiclear

Herpes Expert Terri Warren, RN, owner of the Westover Heights Clinic and Expert Contributor to WebMD is one of the many herpes experts who knows that Dynamiclear has not completed a legitimate “Phase 3″ clinical trial.  On WebMD she writes:

“Everyone is entitled to use treatments that work for them. However, before anyone goes out to buy [Dynamiclear or Herpanacine] based on a single person’s experience, it should be made clear that neither has demonstrated effectiveness in a well done clinical trial. If they would submit to clinical trial evaluation, it would reinforce positive comments from professionals. Both Valtrex (which is now generic as valacyclovir) and acyclovir have demonstrated effectiveness against oral and genital herpes. Acyclovir can be taken daily to reduce the frequency of recurrences and transmission for about $16 per month. Again, everyone should use what works for them, but when it comes to reducing transmission to someone else, I certainly would recommend ONLY those things that have demonstrated effectiveness. Terri”

To read Teri Warren’s post on WebMD go to: http://forums.webmd.com/3/sexual-conditions-and-stds-exchange/forum/7888

Herpes-Coldsores.com is a website that was created by Global Herbal Supplies in 2001, at that time for the purpose of marketing Choraphor, the predecessor of Dynamiclear. Beginning in May 2007, Herpes-Coldsores.com started promoting Dynamiclear instead of Choraphor. (As noted above, the FDA had issued a warning letter about Choraphor in July 2006).  A popular section of Herpes-Coldsores.com is the “H-C Support Forums”, with many unpaid volunteer support members who give good support and good information to the many people who need help dealing with their herpes diagnosis.  The H-C Support Forums and their many volunteers and participants are NOT involved and not responsible for the content that the owners of this website post OUTSIDE of the H-C Support Forums.  Unfortunately, some of the seemingly objective web-pages recommending Dynamiclear on Herpes-Coldsores.com - are NOT clearly identified as sponsored “advertising” for Dynamiclear.  Herpes-Coldsores.com has some web-pages with positive reviews and recommendations for Dynamiclear that “look like” they are from an objective, unbiased third-party instead of marketing copy from Global Herbal Supplies, the makers of Dynamiclear.  Here are some examples: http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/dynamiclear_pros_and_cons.htm and http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/creams.htm#Dynamiclear, Unfortunately, many people read these pages and mistakenly think that Dynamiclear is being recommended by people who do not have a financial interest in the product.  But Herpes-Coldsores.com is NOT an objective third party site – as it “appears” to be. These criticisms of Herpes-Coldsores.com are only about the information that the site owners present about Dynamiclear on their webpages outside of the H-C Support Forums, and this does not involve any of the volunteers who provide support to others in the forums. .

It is very easy to see who owns a particular domain-name and what their website looked like in past years, by using a free online service called Internet Archive Wayback Machine.  You go to the Wayback Machine and type in the domain name you want to look up, and it shows you what their web-pages looked like in previous years and up to the present.  Herpes-Coldsores.com was created in 2001 by Global Herbal Supplies as a web-site to promote Choraphor, their previous topical herpes treatment, that has since been replaced by Dynamiclear.  In 2003, they redesigned the site to look more like an independently-run Herpes Support and Information Site – so that they could promote their own topical herpes treatment as if they were an objective third party – not the manufacturer.  To see what Herpes-Coldsores.com looked like in previous years – starting in 2001, go to

http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http://www.herpes-coldsores.com

Dynamiclear also has an “affiliate marketing program” that pays websites a commission if they recommend and post links to Dynamiclear.com, and if those links result in sales.  Many herpes website owners appreciate the extra income of such affiliate programs.  Some sites openly disclose these affiliations while others do not.  Some website owners who accept advertising are not aware that Dynamiclear uses false and misleading marketing techniques.  Other website owners turn a blind-eye to Dynamiclear’s misleading marketing claims because they earn money from their advertising and links.

People need to “consider the source” of the information they are reading, especially from people and “so-called” experts claiming that a particular herpes treatment gives good results.  If a company’s product or treatment is reputable and effective, then the company should not have to stoop to making false and misleading claims such as: a)  creating websites that look official or objective that give positive product reviews without disclaiming that the website is owned by the company whose products are recommended; b) claiming that product research qualifies as a “Phase III” clinical trial – when it clearly does not, c) putting their product on a list of real clinically proven herpes treatment options such as Acyclovir and Valcyclovir, as if the legitimacy of these treatments can somehow be confered to their own product.  How can anyone trust a company that uses such misleading techniques to market their products?

“Fake” Herpes Treatment Reviews on the Web

There are a lot of other phony “reviews” of Dynamiclear and Medavir on the web – in which people claim that they were at first skeptical and now they are believers – and of course they link to Dynamiclear or Medavir so that you can buy their product!  Both Dynamiclear and Medavir make misleading claims - and each has numerous herpes-related websites which have “fake” positive reviews of their own product – and warnings against the other product.  Websites that are affiliated with Medavir often post positive reviews and links for Medavir and negative reviews of Dynamiclear.  Websites that are affiliated with Dynamiclear often post positive reviews and links for Dynamiclear and negative reviews for Medavir.  The funny thing is - the negative reviews of each product contain more kernels of truth than any of the positive reviews. If you know what you’re looking for, this is an easy way to spot one of these fake herpes treatment review sites, Dynamiclear and Medavir are directly competing with each other to get money from herpes sufferers.  Save your money and don’t buy either of these products.

Here is a partial list of sites that try to “look” independent and objective, but are really affiliated with either Dynamiclear/Global Herbal Supplies or Medavir/Tag Healthcare.  We hope that people with herpes stop falling for the misleading marketing tactics of these and other companies.

Herpes Dating Scams

There are many legitimate online dating services for people with herpes and/or other STD’s.  Some have been around for a long time.  Others are newer and trying to provide a different set of services.  Some are run by large companies while others are small businesses or sole proprietorships.  Most are free to join for a basic membership, but if you want upgraded privileges, you have to pay something.   Some of these sites have affiliate marketing programs, which basically pays website owners a commission for new visitors or paid members that result from their links.  This is all pretty normal for online dating services.  Unfortunately,  some services have problematic or deceptive marketing practices or other problems which landed them a place on this page.

PositiveSingles Private Label Affiliate Sites Spam

PositiveSingles.com (PS), has been a popular dating service for people with Herpes, HPV, and other STD’s, and is definitely the largest STD-related dating service. PositiveSingles is a division of Successful Match, a large Canadian company with a PositiveSingles.comlarge number of specialty online dating sites.  PositiveSingles has a regular affiliate program that gives website owners a commission for visitors or new members who result from links to PositiveSingles on their sites.  This site, DatingWithHerpes.org, publicly discloses that it  has belonged to Positive Singles’ regular affiliate program and has occasionally earned commissions from PositiveSingles.com when visitors clicked or joined via our links.  This has helped to support the expenses of running our site.

Unfortunately, and Successful Match have a ”Private Label Affiliate Program” that allows anyone with a domain name that sounds like an STD dating site to use the profiles and content from Positive Singles – appearing as if it were their own. This has created serious questions related to privacy, confidentiality and misrepresentation, in addition to spam.

A Class Action Suit was filed against PositiveSingles and Successful Match in January 2012.  For details go to:

Basically, anyone can purchase a domain name that sounds like it could be an STD dating site – such as “STDloving.com” or “HerpesPal.com” and then they can apply to become a “Private Label Affiliate” of PositiveSingles.  PositiveSingles provides customizable front page templates and takes care of all the registration and profiles and back-end.  So all of these sites are just the same as PositiveSingles with nothing different except for the front landing page.  If a private label affiliate site gets people to visit their site or register as a paid member, they receive a commission from Positive Singles. So they have a financial incentive to get people to visit their sites.

Many of these PS Private Label Affiliate site owners often use deception to join regional and national herpes social groups and support groups and other herpes-related sites, pretending to be normal people seeking friendship and support.  The next thing they do is to post messages or a “success story” about how they found love online, and recommend a particular herpes dating site, without mentioning that 1) the site is a part of PositiveSingles and 2) they will receive a commission if you join through their link.    A number of these folks may also try to illegally collect private email addresses from herpes groups and message boards they join, and may then send Spam emails to people they don’t know, trying to give personal testimony recommending a herpes/STD dating site, which is really just the same as PositiveSingles.  Below is a list of the PositiveSingles Private Label Affiliate websites that have been known to use deceptive practices to attract new members.  Please don’t even click on their links - you are just putting money into their pockets and encouraging them to continue to use deception and spam.

Stay Away From:

DatingHerpes.net

HerpesAndDating.net

HerpesAndYouDating.com

HerpesDate.org

HerpesFish.com

HerpesMeet.com

HerpesMingles.com

HerpesPal.com

HerpesPeople.com

Hmeet.com

HSinglesMatch.com

PozLoving.com

Singleherpes.com

STDDateline.com

STDfish.com

Stdloving.com

STDmatching.com

You can often tell that these are PositiveSingles affiliates because at the bottom of the page, it often says “Powered by PositiveSingles/Successful Match”.  Some clever private label affiliates change the bottom of the page to remove the “Powered by PositiveSingles” language. But they all connect on the back end to PositiveSingles.com.  All of the member profiles are exactly the same. All of the personal testimonials and other content is also the same.

PositiveSingles claims that they do not encourage spamming and will take action against any of their Private Label affiliates who Spam.  Unfortunately, not enough people know when they are receiving Spam from a PS private label affiliate or what to do about it.

Here’s what you can do about it.  If you receive any spam emails, or if you see any Spam message board posts or comments about any of these or other PositiveSingles private label affiliate members posing to be regular folks recommending an STD dating site (which 99% of the time is an affiiate of PositiveSingles), forward the spam marked ”Spam from PS affiliate specific-site-name.com” to the below email addresses and say that you want them to stop these people from spamming you:
affiliates@positivesingles.com

Support@positivesingles.com

Benson@successfulmatch.com

STDCommunity

STDCommunity.com is a free dating and community site for people with STD’s – or is it?  At first we were curious about this site – hoping that it was truly started to provide a new free service to the STD community. But then we figured out that they were just using their “free to join” website as a *hook* to attract new visitors who might click on their ads and links for PositiveSingles (PS) and 2 PS private label affiliate sites – HerpesandYouDating.com and STDDateline.com.  These 2 PS affiliate sites sites have cleverly replaced the bottom of the page copyright line with their own website name.  But all of the content and profiles on the back-end of these sites is exactly the same as PositiveSingles.  Since the owner of STDCommunity.com runs a real ad for PositiveSingles on his site’s front page, for which he is compensated as a regular affiliate, he is certainly aware that the other 2 STD dating sites that he lists are PS private label affiliates, but he does not disclose this – which is very deceptive.  We suspect that the guy behind STDCommunity also owns these 2 private label affiliate sites and hopes that he can make some money by referring his visitors to them.  So his site visitors are tricked into clicking on the links and checking out these “new and different” STD dating sites, which are one and the same as PositiveSingles.  We were very disappointed to find out that STDCommunity.com would try to send their visitors to 2 PS private label affiliate sites.  If STDCommunity removes these deceptive links to PS private label affiliate sites, we’ll consider removing them from this page on Scams.