ALERT! ALERT!

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Hey everyone,
I hope you all had a great weekend!
I want to simply put out an ALERT! As once again I’ve been approached by a Market Research company based out of London this time called Medex Research. As many of you already know these groups usually use the approach that they are testing a new product, solution etc. etc.etc. specific to whatever injury/ disease etc. we are fighting. The reality is they are simply “Buying a license” to resell your most personal information to anyone that will pay them for it, bypassing all of the HIPPA privacy protections we have here in the US. I would imagine there are similar protections in the UK?
The reason I am posting this is I received this via a PM. This way it doesn’t draw attention of moderators and I can’t Red Flag it I just hate that these groups have no problem lying to you to obtain the information we share here in confidence, only to make it available to anyone on the open market and can then be shared publicly! To make matters worse often times these resellers will dig very deeply into people’s personal lives, all under the guise of making sure you’re a perfect fit for a “Free Trial” of whatever their new product allegedly is, when in reality it just gives them more of your personal information to sell.
Sorry if this appears as a “Rant”, I just hate seeing people that are here seeking a “Safe Zone” where we can share honestly about things that really affect our lives, that people outside of this community just don’t understand only to have that taken away by unscrupulous marketers...
I hope everyone has a great week!
Tom

 

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Thanks! Darn it, I already had that spent on fishing lures

 

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Thank you for the alert! I thought it was fishy once I saw the $100

 

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Dear "Sprung 87",


Unfortunately you are wholly incorrect in your assertions above.

We are a Medical Research Company. We are not a manufacturer or a vendor of any product or medication, relating to overactive bladder or any other condition.

The Research we conduct is subject to formal regulations relating to confidentiality contained within the UK Market Research Society Code of Conduct.

If you do not wish to participate in this research that is of course your choice, but I would caution against making unsubstantiated and potentially libellous statements in this manner.

yours sincerely,

MARK WEATHERHEAD
MEDEX RESEARCH UK

 

[Archives1]

Hey everyone,
I hope you all had a great weekend!
I want to simply put out an ALERT! As once again I’ve been approached by a Market Research company based out of London this time called Medex Research. As many of you already know these groups usually use the approach that they are testing a new product, solution etc. etc.etc. specific to whatever injury/ disease etc. we are fighting. The reality is they are simply “Buying a license” to resell your most personal information to anyone that will pay them for it, bypassing all of the HIPPA privacy protections we have here in the US. I would imagine there are similar protections in the UK?
The reason I am posting this is I received this via a PM. This way it doesn’t draw attention of moderators and I can’t Red Flag it I just hate that these groups have no problem lying to you to obtain the information we share here in confidence, only to make it available to anyone on the open market and can then be shared publicly! To make matters worse often times these resellers will dig very deeply into people’s personal lives, all under the guise of making sure you’re a perfect fit for a “Free Trial” of whatever their new product allegedly is, when in reality it just gives them more of your personal information to sell.
Sorry if this appears as a “Rant”, I just hate seeing people that are here seeking a “Safe Zone” where we can share honestly about things that really affect our lives, that people outside of this community just don’t understand only to have that taken away by unscrupulous marketers...
I hope everyone has a great week!
Tom

Tom, are you speaking in generalities or do you have specific knowledge about this company?

 

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i will never respond to these private messages from a company.

 

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Just got their "proposition". Thanks for the alert.

Bo

 

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Emailed me too. I didn't respond.

 

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@markweatherhead, perhaps if you find a way to approach us openly with the NAFC endorsing you somehow, we wouldn't be so cautious. While Sprung87 might be incorrect about you, it is completely understandable for him to feel this way. Many of us do. We are contacted by many false advertisers as he said.

 

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I didn’t respond to the offer, either, because it seems illegitimate.

 

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So after reading Sprung's posting I did some research on Medex. I had originally signed up for the interview feeling that anything that led to effective to treatment for OAB was a good thing. After doing the research I withdrew from the interview.
Here is part of the response I sent to Mark:

Mark, I have to tell you I was disappointed after looking at your companies website. Not one client is listed. As a small company (which I work for) a client listing is essential in generating credibility.
The second thing is that you are not listed as a team member on Medex's website, nor do you list Medex as an employer on your linked-in profile.
The third thing is that nowhere did i see a promise that you would not share the personal information that was gathered. I have participated in medical research before, and we were always assured in writing that our personal information would not be shared, just the aggregated group information.
It was the combination of these three things that really made me uncomfortable.

 

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Thank you for the alert. I am usually very cautious, but occassionally I have thought about these emails instead of immediately throwing them in the trash. If the NAFC sent a letter to its members endorsing a company, I might give it some consideration.

 

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Wow! Thanks for the alert!

 

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I agree that it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. I hope in this case they are wheat but somehow getting my email and contacting me dirrctly and then raising the Libel/slander thing puts me off. Perhaps they can address us as a group as other product developers have. Inquiring minds want to know.
Please try another approach as we all need help of one type or another

 

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Mr. Weatherhead, I wrote my Alert based on the way you contacted me directly, as nobody not affiliated with NAFC has this particular contact information.when I reached out to NAFC they had no idea who you are. Based on the information given on your listed company website medexresearch.com It states very clearly “We help medical device and diagnostic companies explore growth opportunities and develop marketing strategies for new and existing products in emerging and developed markets”. Please correct me if I am wrong, but does your organization not resell the information acquired via your interviews? Is possible your organization is contracted to developers of medical devices to gauge potential interested in specific products or devices? If this is the case these are legitimate business models widely used in the R&D of many products, but this should be clearly spelled out in your quasi-private messaging sent directly to me. I looked at the your website & Linked In and could find no affiliation between you and Medex, so how would one know where or how this information is really being applied? If your company, Medex is attempting to bring to market a product that would truly improve the lives of members here, why not simply use the NAFC approved channels. As boasammy stated, with NAFC Sponsorship you could potentially have an audience already seeking your solution simply by telling us all in an open format how you can help us?

 

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This is probably all you need to know about this outfit. A company asking for Information for a valid “study” would put the information about HIPPA and protection of private information in big letters right up front.

“participate in this research that is of course your choice, but I would caution against making unsubstantiated and potentially libellous statements in this manner.

yours sincerely,

MARK WEATHERHEAD
MEDEX RESEARCH UK”

There is no such thing as a free lunch!

I’m not sure how this outfit could even find out details in order to sue you. Unless they got it from NAFC - which would be an issue in itself

 

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They promise to send you money for your personal information. It sounds like a phishing scheme. I'm not doing it.

 

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@Sprung87

I am like you on this one. I never respond to this sort of thing.

I am curious though; this seems to happen here frequently, whereas it almost never happens on other groups that I subscribe to. Maybe this forum has a leak or other vulnerability that needs to be addressed.

 

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I feel like absolutely nothing on this forum is moderated.

 

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To be fair to the forum. If someone signs up they are in the system. Any one who has ever posted is on the discussion board. Your post has a link to send you an email. I don’t believe the link lists your email address. If you click in the link it brings up your screen name. I assume this guy is simply clicking on email icons and pasting in a canned message.

Some place on here NAFC probably has a privacy statement that none of us bothered to read, but accepted.

I don’t know if NAFC is actively monitoring this forum.

I’ll do a test and let you know what I find out.