Dare we laugh
about scams?
Techno Talk
Mark Nelson
This month, we turn to online scams involving electronic gizmos. To PE readers, these scams are selfevidently fraudulent; they’re totally ludicrous and could never work as described. However, non-technical
customers might easily take the scammers at their word – otherwise the fraudsters would not waste their
time flogging their rubbish. If you get a kick from pseudo-scientific nonsense, just read on.
D
o you enjoy a good one-liner?
My all-time favourite is ‘Start
every day with a smile – and
get it over with.’ I chuckle every time
I hear it; and for this absolute gem we
must thank the American actor and comedian WC Fields (1898–1946). Each
of his witticisms was a cracker, such as
my second favourite, ‘There’s no such
thing as a tough child – if you parboil
them first for seven hours, they always
come out tender.’
That’s the darker side of his humour,
and as we launch into the serious side
of this article, here are just two more.
‘It’s morally wrong to allow a sucker to
keep his money’, also ‘You can fool some
of the people some of the time – and
that’s enough to make a decent living.’
FUD and FOMO
FUD is a combination of ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’, while FOMO is a
‘fear of missing out’. Both are powerful motivators in marketing methods,
to convince punters into spending
money on PDPs (potentially dodgy
products) that they don’t need. Here’s
one to consider: the Blushield Tesla
Cube (https://bit.ly/pe-feb21-bs). It’s not
something you drop in the toilet cistern and at £480, it’s not as affordable
as a blue brick for the WC. Described as
an EMF Protection device, it’s an electronic gadget for home and office use
that protects the human body against
5G radiation.
As if simply shielding you against
microwave radiation were not enough,
it also claims to promote emotional
stability and restful sleep, while it
‘may’ also reduce fatigue associated
with EMF and increase your energy
level. Helpfully, the write-up also
advises: ‘Spring mattresses induce
EMF through the coils and can even
amplify EMF fields nearby such as
wiring in walls. Get a latex or foam
mattress and make sure your head is
not near any electrical outlet or wiring near the wall.’
Smart meters are ‘extremely dangerous’, it continues. and Wi-Fi routers
10
and DECT cordless phones are ‘very
dangerous’. I now realise how little
my electronics education had taught
me about how physics really works.
Never again will I trust ‘experts’! But
the people who sent in these, umm,
remarkable testimonials (https://bit.
ly/pe-feb21-more-bs) are adamant
that their lives have been changed as
well as having their wallets emptied.
Blushield can even make your neighbours’ dogs less hostile, after all.
All hail the Accelerator
Frequency Generator
Just as the coronavirus pandemic has
stimulated research into multiple antiCOVID vaccines, several prophylactic
measures have been devised for combatting 5G radiation. So, if Blushield
is not your cup of tea, maybe you need
an Accelerator Frequency Generator
(AFG). Unlike the Blushield product
mentioned above, the AFG Smart 5G
Shield is not mains-powered, using
instead its attached solar cell chip is
the power source. This makes it much
cheaper to buy ($39 from https://bit.
ly/pe-feb21-different-bs – Amazon UK
did sell it but has run out of stock).
By the way, don’t be taken in by the
mean-spirited customer reviews at
https://bit.ly/pe-feb21-donotbuy; I am
quite sure that Amazon would never
sell a product that was ‘ineffective’,
‘pure snake oil’ and ‘possibly haunted’.
But how does it work? By exploiting
the effects of frequency acceleration,
obviously. However, for reasons of
commercial confidentiality, all the
manufacturer is prepared to reveal for
now is that the product is ‘infused with
anti-radiation frequencies from the
AFG that aids in protecting you from
harmful RF radiation for one year’. The
form factor is fortunately very modest:
a one-inch round chip made of a crystalline carbon material with a strong
adhesive back that adheres to any surface. It is designed to block harmful RF
radiation from common sources such
as 4G and 5G cellphones, tablets, laptops and all other electronic devices.
The ultimate scam
Perhaps the prize for the most notorious 5G scam product should go to
the fabulous 5G BioShield. Despite being denounced by the City of London
Police’s Action Fraud Squad and UK
Trading Standards, it is still on sale,
now reduced by 40% to £165 (https://
bit.ly/pe-feb21-home-of-bs). Unlike rival products, it employs a quantum
nanolayer as a portable radiation balancing system to secure the ultimate
protection for you, your family, and
your home. It’s ingenious too. Without
being plugged into a computer, the
device actively protects the human
body 24/7 within an 8m-diameter
sphere, but when plugged into a power
source, the sphere of active protection
expands from the original 8m up to a
massive 40m in diameter, protecting
all in its field, both individuals and
whole households. No larger than a
USB stick, it can be carried on your
person or placed near a mobile phone
(or any other radiation-producing electrical device).
The reason why this amazing device is no larger than a memory stick
is down to the fact that it is, well, just
an unenhanced memory stick worth
about £5. Two scientific teardown tests
have proved this. The last word goes to
the splendid Jim Al-Khalili OBE FRS,
professor of physics at the University
of Surrey and presenter of BBC Radio’s
The Life Scientific programme, who
tweeted: ‘As a renowned world expert on quantum biology, quantum
entanglement and relativistic time
dilation, I can say, categorically, that
if you spend £339 on a 5GBioShield
then you’re an utter numpty.’
And finally…
A quick follow-up to last month’s article about dodgy ‘deco’ lightbulbs.
The editor helpfully reminds me that
the CE symbol sometimes has a third
meaning: caveat emptor. Thanks, Matt!
Many thanks go also to fellow contributor Alan Winstanley for launching
me on this journey of investigation.
Practical Electronics | February | 2021
