FTC Rains Down On Radiation Claim

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

FTC Rains Down On Radiation Claim

By Mark Harrington

STAFF WRITER



http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-bzftc073404866aug07,0,5243894.story?coll=ny-health-headlines



August 7, 2003



The Internet advertisement for Rhino International's "Wave Scrambler" 

was as alarming as it was blatantly false, government investigators said.



"It has been discovered that long-term usage of cell phones may effect 

(sic) the thin-film nerves and cause retardation," the ad said. The 

solution? "Protect yourself and your loved ones" at $19.95 a clip for 

one of its thin-metal, radiation-reducing patches.



Yesterday, citing such claims, the Federal Trade Commission filed civil 

charges in federal court in Central Islip against Sag Harbor-based Rhino 

and a separate company, Brooklyn-based Safety Cell Inc., charging they 

sold bogus cell phone radiation-reducing patches to tens of thousands of 

unwitting consumers.



Both companies agreed to settlements that prohibit them from marketing 

or selling any such products without scientific evidence to back the 

claims. Rhino must pay consumer restitution of $342,665. Safety Cell's 

restitution was suspended because of lack of money, the FTC said.



Several calls to Rhino and its principals, Nigel Harrison and Sherry 

Molina, weren't returned. The phones at Safety Cell's offices were 

disconnected. Jerry Berger was named in the FTC complaint as principal 

of Safety Cell.



The FTC complaints are part of a crackdown on the devices, all of which 

share one key trait, the agency said:



"Specifically, all of these devices do not work," said Barbara Anthony, 

Northeast regional director of the FTC, which filed the charges after a 

months long investigation.



Preying on consumers' fears about the uncertain effects of cell phone 

radiation, the devices range from $20 patches to silver-lined boxer 

shorts and cooking aprons costing upward of $50.



FTC attorney Ron Waldman said the devices are particularly deceiving 

because consumers buy them expecting a level of safety they can never be 

sure they receive. "There's no way for a consumer to tell whether the 

product is working," he said.



In fact, the FTC said on its Web site, "These shields may interfere with 

the phone's signal ... and possibly emit more radiation."



Anthony said consumers who may have bought devices from Rhino should 

contact the agency at 1-877-FTC-HELP about a refund.



-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Toll free 888-770-3073 ~ www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................





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