‘Scam’: A woman was invited to a ‘fitness meeting,’ but it turned out to be a pitch for $150 stickers and a $4,000 water filter

A Reddit user posting as Hambrrgrrr wrote that their mom was invited to a ‘fitness meeting’. The user said the gathering turned out to be a sales pitch for stickers priced at $150 and a water filter priced at $4,000. Hambrrgrrr called the situation a ‘scam’ in the r/mildlyinfuriating post and attached a photo of one sticker next to a finger for scale.

The original poster described the item as a cotton pad sealed inside a plastic sticker. Hambrrgrrr stated it was a free sample and that their mom did not buy anything. The user wrote that the meeting was arranged so sellers could pitch the products at the mom’s gym.

Hambrrgrrr said the company is called LifeWave. The user added that they looked at a patent they believed applied to the stickers, listed as US10716953B1 on Google Patents.

Original poster described LifeWave sticker contents and patent language

Hambrrgrrr wrote that the patent uses technical wording and cites related ideas to explain how a cotton pad soaked in glycerin and copper peptides inside a sticker could improve blood flow and energy without putting anything into the body. The user said the contents of the pad do nothing and called the products useless.

The original poster stated the company used many sales tactics and sold the items at high markups. Hambrrgrrr wrote that the products target middle-aged people with limited medical knowledge. The user also said the owner lives in a large mansion.

Hambrrgrrr clarified in later edits that the mom was trying to make her gym profitable and had no interest in the sales structure. The user said their mom quickly recognized it as a multilevel marketing pitch.

One commenter wrote that a Facebook friend sells both the stickers and the water filter and claims to be the healthiest she has ever been. The same commenter added that the friend is also the brokest she has ever been. They wrote, “Ughhhhhh someone I’m friends with on Facebook shills both of these and is “the healthiest she’s ever been” Also the brokest she’s ever been…”

Another commenter replied that the friend was waiting for three people who would each get three more people so she could become less broke. A different commenter said most people in such groups know the structure rarely pays the people at the bottom.

Hambrrgrrr replied that the company is also an MLM and “checks every box in the scam checklist.” One commenter asked whether the name LifeWave comes from waving goodbye to life savings. They wrote, “Is it called that because you wave goodbye to your lifesavings?”

A commenter who said they had reviewed company materials wrote that one flagship patch is marketed as a stem-cell activation patch. That commenter stated LifeWave claims reflected light raises copper peptides linked to cell renewal. The same commenter suggested the wording appeared close to medical claims.

Hambrrgrrr said the company uses careful language to avoid direct claims. Another commenter quoted a disclaimer from the company site that the statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and that the products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Several commenters described being invited to similar events that began as dinners, job talks, or fitness gatherings and later became product pitches. One person said a sailor invited them to a home-cooked meal after months at sea and instead took them to an MLM meeting at a hotel.

Another commenter said they sat through a presentation after a childhood friend invited them to a work event. They wrote that the talk lasted more than an hour before the company name Amway was mentioned and that they left after someone mentioned a basement full of shampoo. The commenter added, “I’m going f–king bald and don’t need shampoo.”

One commenter said they once attended what was billed as a spa day for a friend and found it was a product demonstration with a sales pitch. They wrote they spent money on transportation only to sit through the presentation. This kind of bait-and-switch tactic is common, such as when a man called a window company for a simple quote and ended up sitting through a 90-minute sales presentation. 

Hambrrgrrr stated that for the price of the stickers, people would be better off paying for medical treatment that has evidence behind it. The user wrote that relying on a placebo can hide problems and allow them to continue or worsen. Such scams can target vulnerable people, as when an 80-year-old Colorado farmer lost 500k in a scheme.