Doctor Oz had an exciting episode this week as he teamed up with real estate mogul and Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran to hunt down an online scammer.
That scammer was selling a skin cream online that featured Barbara’s name and image. Barbara, understandably, was upset: she had no affiliation with the skin cream, but her reputation was being used to promote the product.
That’s why Doctor Oz and Barbara decided to take action. On February 28, 2017, Doctor Oz revealed a sneak peek of their adventure. In the sneak peek, the two team up with internet experts John Jansen and Christine Durst to help trace the trail across the internet.
Eventually, Barbara meets face-to-face with an online scammer in a video you can see here.
The full episode aired on February 28, 2017. We’ve seen it. Keep reading to discover some behind the scenes information from the episode, including how they tracked down the scammer – and what happens when Barbara confronts him.
What Happens On the Episode?
Doctor Oz introduces the episode by claiming that he and Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran are “biting back” against online scammers using her face and name to sell products that she has nothing to do with.
Doctor Oz then tells the story of how Barbara flew across the country to find the man responsible for marketing the skin cream online. Here’s what happens:
Barbara teamed up with Doctor Oz’s “cyber sleuth” team to track down the online scammers
- We see promotional images featuring Barbara’s name and face, including pictures of Doctor Oz promoting the mysterious skin cream on his show (it’s all PhotoShopped).
- The skin cream websites look similar to most scammy skin cream sites seen online today: they feature over-exaggerated claims about how young you’ll look along with a “free trial” offer that’s really an autoship program in disguise.
- Barbara traveled to San Diego to track down the scammer.
- How did she track the scammer to San Diego? The website had no company name attached to it, and the About Us page featured no additional information. So they decided to do a WHOIS search, which tells you who registered the domain. When they did this search, the name of the company (Fight Aging LLC) popped up, along with the name of the registrant and his address in San Diego.
- Two brothers were running the company. Next, Barbara hired a private investigator to secretly film the brothers at their business. One brother appeared to be running some sort of shady DVD shop, while the older brother was spotted driving to the office in his Porsche. Neither appeared to be doing much work involving skin creams.
- That’s when Barbara decided to move in. She walks to the house with television cameras in tow. She doesn’t get a response at the front door, so she walks into the backyard and checks the back door along with a side door while peering in the windows and playing with his kids’ outdoor toys. It’s kind of creepy.
- Not one to give up, Barbara calls the brothers cell phone number and tells him to meet her at his house. That’s where the first preview ends. In the second preview, we see Barbara talk to one brother at his place of business (the weird DVD shop).
- Sitting uncomfortably in an office chair, gets berated by Barbara as she says, “You’ve been using my name and my face to market the crap out of your face cream. Do you have my permission?”
- He awkwardly says that he doesn’t have permission, but that he doesn’t do that type of stuff. He shifts the blame to an affiliate who’s not playing by the rules.
- Barbara asks him to contact the affiliate. He refuses. Barbara claims he’s “lost control of his product”. He asks the cameras to be turned off so he can talk to Barbara privately.
What Happened After the Cameras Turned Off?
After the cameras turned off, Barbara had a chat with with him. Barbara revealed what he said to her in an interview with Doctor Oz.
“He told me the reason he got involved in the business in the first place out of jealousy. He was jealous of another guy who was making a lot of money and driving a fancy car.”
Eventually, he teamed up with his brother to launch the skincare business online. Together, they were making $300,000 per year. Barbara, however, claims that he admitted that he “really wanted to quit”. He also shifted most of the blame to his brother.
He also claims he gives money back when customers request a refund.
By the Time the Interview Was Done, He Was Pitching Barbara an Idea for Shark Tank
One of the most entertaining parts of the Dr. Oz episode was when Barbara explained how by the time the interview was over, He was pitching her an idea for Shark Tank.
“When he actually started pitching me the idea, I couldn’t believe me ears.”
Barbara added that he appeared to have “no remorse” over how the skin cream was marketed.
In any case, the two preview clips are entertaining enough. Many of us have been the victims of online scammers, and many of us have fantasized about confronting our scammers in person. Doctor Oz and Barbara Corcoran team up to confront skin care scammers in person – and the end result is some fantastically entertaining television.
