Gadget Scams

Katrina Borthwick - 18 August 2025

Sometimes I get weird MSN ‘News’ landing pages that are chocka with adverts. One of the linked pages I saw recently was this one. It lists piles of gadgets that I apparently urgently need, and which are going to sell out soon. Being curious, I had a look.

There were too many for me to look at all of them, but a few took my interest. I was particularly intrigued by a small gadget (Power Saver Pro) that said it would save me money on my power bill if I plugged it into the wall. One curious user opened it up, and although he did find a circuit board inside, sadly the only working part of the whole device was an LED light so you can tell it is ‘working’.

After a flurry of red light related therapy nonsense and footbaths I noticed some adjustable reading glasses. They use a dial so you can change the lens to whatever works for you, instead of going to an optometrist. Sadly this only changes the magnification, and can do nothing for other visual needs such as astigmatism. According to various reviews, they are a bit cheap and nasty, break easily, and aren’t very clear to look through. If what you need is prescription glasses, these are likely a recipe for an eyestrain headache.

Then there is the Omega datacube. Instead of doing something dreary like automatically uploading my photos on my phone to the cloud, I can plug this device into a power outlet then plug my phone into that and it will back up and organise my photos while my phone charges. Unfortunately, users are saying things like that their device isn’t charging, it doesn’t work, or they have trouble actually seeing the photos that have been backed up on there. I did find one very positive review - from someone who only seems to post effusively positive things about every product they review. I suspect it’s a fake reviewer. But, even if this product works, I don’t really understand the need for it. Also, it’s not a cube…

Then there’s a liquid being sold as Neuroquiet - a treatment that ‘pauses’ tinnitus. I was mildly interested in this one, having tinnitus itself. However, the Amazon ratings speak for themselves, with most users giving it a one star review. The major drawback apparently is that it ‘doesn’t work’.

But there’s five stars for an insanely overcomplicated solution for buying a fitted sheet in the right size. Can you imagine having to lift up your mattress each time you changed the bed? Full animation of the Bed Scrunchie can be viewed here, but without the reality of actual humans grunting and swearing as they attempt to wrangle this nightmare. Which presumably is nothing more than a piece of elastic.

And what about this Fuelsave Pro device that claims I can save you 35% on fuel when I fill up my car? All I need to do is plug it into the car’s OBD2 port under the dashboard, and it just works. Except I happen to know that the OBD2 is the On Board Diagnostics Port. That’s what your mechanic might use to see what is going on with my car if it’s not behaving right. Plugging anything else in there probably won’t break my car, but it’s unlikely to do anything useful given the fact that, beyond some basic diagnostic commands, most advanced functions are very much specific to each make and model of car. And with a promised marginal fuel saving rate of 35%, most people won’t be able to tell if it is working for a while unless they have a very consistent travel pattern between fills. Hmmm.

Handily there is something that can help me sleep after wasting my hard-earned money on dummy plugs and snake oil. It’s called a ‘Chill Pill’, which is a sort of squishy thing you hold in your hand. It supposedly tells your brain to go to sleep by balancing your neurochemicals, using electrotherapy. This is somewhat reminiscent of an ‘Ood’ from the TV Series Doctor Who holding its brain in its hand. But I have to say I’m suspicious of this gadget too, after user SevenFold21 on reddit said “The Chill Pill is a ripoff. Don’t waste your money. You know those trick cigarette lighters that give you a nasty electric shock when you try to use it, that’s what this chill pill gadget does. It gives you a mild electric shock every time you touch it, and they expect you to fall asleep. How ridiculous.” Other commenters say the battery only lasts a couple of days. But that’s probably a good thing, by the sounds of it.

With enhanced sleep out of the picture, maybe I will just round off my gadget adventure with a drink. Fortunately, ‘The Wand’ will make sure that I don’t get a hangover. I just pop it in my glass, and voila. It absorbs over 95% of the histamines and sulphites from my wine, and then keeps them trapped inside purification beads. According to the site “The Wand’s effectiveness has been tested and proven by ETS Labs in St. Helena in California!” Maybe I could get a job there, as they sound like they are probably having a lot of fun testing this device. Now excuse me while I go have a glass of wine and try not to poke my eye out.