An example of a scam ad in Microsoft Edge

Anonymous
2023-07-07T23:50:38+00:00

This is just one of many scam products that are being campaigned for in the Microsoft Edge's start site "MSN Start" in Sweden.

"Repair high blood pressure!" and the product name is "Cariovico"

When you click on the ad you'll go to a fake medical magazine that says "After this cleaning of the blood vessels, people of all ages will get rid of high blood pressure and nine other diseases claimed "incurable".

And then there is a interview with "the famous cardiologist Prof. Dr. Erik Larsson". But he doesn't exist. In Germany his name is "Friedrich Kuck". In the Albanian ad he has an Albanian name. The portrait of "him" is actually of a Russian pediatrist, Vladimir Tatochenko.

Then there is the patient "Hanna Andersson, 79, from Gothenburg" who got saved from nearly having a heart attack thanks to Cariovico. In Germany the same woman is called "Martina Henna, 79, from Solingen".

The woman on the picture is in reality Rebecca Button, wife of the American congressman Dan Button.

The ad claims that "Cariovico" is based on the "Active oxygen molecules" and claim that it's a Japanese discovery that has landed two Japanese scientists the Nobel Prize, and it's thanks to these "Active oxygen molecules" Japanese people live longer. This is nonsense, and no Nobel Prizes have been awarded for anything close to that.

The ad claims that they use "natural" things like herbs like Ginko biloba to remove all cholesterol and calcuim deposits from the veins, and that Cariovico cures high blood pressure, vericose veins, tinnitus, weight problems, breathing problems, joint pains, swollen limbs, bad eyesight, erectile dysfunction and more.

They claim that Cariovico was developed by the Swedish "Hjärt- och kärlinstitutet" (Heart and vascular Institute), an institute that doesn't exist. In the German version it was developed by the "Berliner Herz- und Gefässinstitut" (Which doesn't exist either).

Scams like these are not only illegal, but also dangerous when they fool elderly that they will be have their blood vessels cleaned after taking these capsules for three months, which would mean that they could throw their proper medication for Angina and other heart problems away.

One bottle costs 899 SEK, which is about 83 USD.

Swedish: https://eu.great-shape.pro/cariovico_se_in3_n?clickid=64725b66c860e60001ca94df

German: https://eu.realnews.life/cardiobalance_de_pp?clickid=63b481ac457e5a0001b0b01a

And this is not the only scam on MSN Start and in Outlook. There is also "Audiovico" that they claim cures tinnitus and deafness. They even claim that totally deaf will get their hearing back. There is "Proctotivo" that will solve all prostate problems and enlarge the **** with 2-3 inches. There is "EternelleFineEyelifter" from a fake "Exclusive French Company" that removes all wrinkles. "Veniseptico" removes vericose veins. There is "BeSlimmer" herb capsules that maked your body fat disappear without you having to do anything. And many more scams. All the "doctors" and "specialists" are fake, and their portraits stock photos.

And the ads have "comments" by people they have used the products and how "awesome" they are. The names are just made up, and the photos are stolen or stock images.

I have reported these ads for MONTHS, both by clicking on the report function on the ads themselves and by using the Feedback function in MSN Edge, but nothing has been done. On the MSN Start page in Microsoft Edge there are between 20 - 50 scam ads all the time. And many of them pop up in the Outlook Inbox too. It's criminal what's going on.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-07-08T00:09:59+00:00

    Hello Spajd,

    Thank you for using our Microsoft Advertising Community Forum! 

    I understand that you would like to report the ads that are violating our policies. All components of the ads must pass an editorial review to ensure that they meet Microsoft Advertising policies. This is a quality check to ensure that ads are appropriate for potential customers. Editorial checks do not stop once an ad is live. The Microsoft Advertising team performs ongoing reviews to help ensure a quality marketplace. For this reason, ads and keywords that have previously displayed may be disapproved.

    We really appreciate your effort in bringing this to our attention. You may report this directly to our Editorial team for investigation by submitting an ad pull request:

    Low quality ad submission & escalation - Microsoft Advertising

    We take these complaints very seriously. If the ad is in violation of our policies, it will be removed from the network.

    I hope you find the information above helpful. Let us know if you have questions and we'll be glad to help you out.

    Kind regards, 

    Jefferson| Microsoft Advertising Support Specialist | 800-518-5689

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2023-07-08T04:02:20+00:00

    Thank you Jefferson, let's see how it goes. I have reported a few.

    How do I report ads that show up in the Outlook Inbox? Right-clicking doesn't allow me to copy a link.

    I wish your advertising team would get better at checking the ads before publishing them. I saw a new ad yesterday and it was in the same style as earlier scam ads I've seen. It didn't take me many minutes to look up the "weight-loss specialist Kerstin Bengtsson" who allegedly wrote the article. I found no such specialist when searching, and the image search showed that "her" portrait was a stolen image.

    And the claim that you can take one herbal capsule a day to get slim (with a six pack) in two weeks without any diet or exercise should set the alarm bells off...

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2023-07-10T23:07:50+00:00

    Hello Spajd,

    We can assure you that we have many checks in place to identify and remove content that violates Microsoft Advertising policies. If there is content on our network that is in violation of our policies, it’s simply a matter of time before it is found and removed.

    Whenever you find content on our network that you believe is in violation of Microsoft Advertising policies, please feel free report it to us through our Report Low Quality Ad form. We will review the ad and take action if it violates our policies.

    Regarding the ads in Outlook, instead of putting the R-link, you may put "not applicable" and upload the screenshot of the ads that are in violation and provide more details on the "comments" section as to why you think the ad violates our policies.

    Thank you and have a great day!

    Kind regards, 

    Jefferson| Microsoft Advertising Support Specialist | 800-518-5689

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-07-11T15:10:31+00:00

    Hello Spajd,A

    Hope you're doing well.

    We really appreciate your time in contacting us here is our community forum. Rest assured that we are constantly reviewing content in our network to ensure that they comply with our Microsoft Advertising policies. Please feel free to reply to this thread if you have questions or need further assistance and I'll do my best to help you out.

    Thank you so much and have a great day!

    Kind regards, 

    Jefferson| Microsoft Advertising Support Specialist | 800-518-5689

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-08-22T05:47:58+00:00

    Most of the scam ads were removed, but some have returned. Also, I often get the reply:

    Hello,  

    Thank you for contacting us!  

    To review an ad for compliance with our policies, we require an r-link.

    Unfortunately, provided invalid r-link. 

    Please locate the r-link by following these steps:  

    Go to MSN news

    Find the ad in question and right-click on the ad title 

    Select ‘Copy Link’ 

    If you have additional questions regarding r-links more information is available here. We hope this information is helpful. We look forward to assisting you with this matter. 

    Best Regards, 

    Microsoft Advertising Global Support  ​

    I do exactly what I'm supposed to, but some ads, like the scam ads for "NanoSparkle" don't have a link that starts with www.bing.com like the others. Are these ads protected from being reported, or what?

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/914ba28d-4c41-4d12-ac0b-20002512f618?platform=QnA

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