The Dark Side of Cerebrum IQ: Fraudulent Tactics to Censor the Internet – Part 1

Originally Syndicated on September 19, 2024 @ 9:46 am

What Happened?

Cerebrum IQ, a company that presents itself as a leader in cognitive training and educational tools, has been facing mounting criticism over its questionable business practices. Complaints from users, many of which can be found on platforms like Trustpilot, have raised red flags about misleading advertising, poor customer service, and unauthorized charges. These reviews point to a deeper pattern of unethical behavior, with customers feeling deceived and frustrated by the company’s tactics.

In an apparent effort to control the narrative, Cerebrum IQ has reportedly engaged in attempts to censor negative feedback and damaging news by issuing takedown requests and challenging unfavorable reviews. Despite these efforts, complaints continue to surface, drawing attention to the company’s history of dubious practices and lack of accountability.

The controversy surrounding Cerebrum IQ has prompted wider concerns about the transparency of businesses operating in the education and cognitive training sectors. As the company scrambles to protect its reputation, more voices are emerging, eager to expose the reality behind its slick marketing campaigns.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.

FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.

Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.

By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Cerebrum IQ and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…

List of Fake Copyright Notices for Cerebrum IQ

Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s)	2
Lumen Database Notice(s)	https://lumendatabase.org/notices/44484892 https://lumendatabase.org/notices/44493843
Sender(s)	KD Media Corporation CPM Media International LLP
Date(s)	September 09, 2024 September 09, 2024
Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers	https://timesofnewyork.org/2024/09/09/cerebrumiq-com/ https://timesofnewyork.org/2024/09/09/cerebrumiq-com/
Original Link(s) Targeted	http://trustpilot.com/review/cerebrumiq.com http://trustpilot.com/review/cerebrumiq.com

Evidence and Screenshots

Only Cerebrum IQ Benefit from this crime.

Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Cerebrum IQ  from Google, we assume Cerebrum IQ or someone associated with Cerebrum IQ  is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Cerebrum IQ . In this case, Cerebrum IQ , at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.

So, who tf is Cerebrum IQ ?

Cerebrum IQ is a company that markets itself as a provider of cognitive training tools, claiming to help users improve their memory, focus, and overall brain performance. However, the company has come under scrutiny due to a series of complaints and negative reviews that point to questionable business practices.

Why They Are Trying to Censor the Internet

Cerebrum IQ has been accused of attempting to control the narrative around its reputation by censoring negative feedback and reviews online. This includes efforts to suppress unfavorable comments on consumer review platforms like Trustpilot, where many dissatisfied customers have voiced concerns. These attempts at censorship are likely motivated by the need to protect their image and mitigate the fallout from growing public discontent about their services.

Major Concerns, Complaints, and Accusations

1. Misleading Advertising: Many users have claimed that the company’s advertisements make exaggerated claims about the effectiveness of their products, which fail to deliver the promised results.
2. Unclear Billing Practices: A significant number of reviews on Trustpilot report unauthorized charges or difficulties in canceling subscriptions. Customers have expressed frustration with being charged unexpectedly and struggling to receive refunds.
3. Poor Customer Support: Numerous reviews highlight the lack of responsiveness and inadequate support from the company’s customer service team, leaving users unable to resolve issues related to billing or product dissatisfaction.
4. Product Quality: There are complaints about the actual effectiveness of Cerebrum IQ’s services, with users stating that the tools provided did not offer any significant cognitive improvement, contrary to the company’s claims.

These complaints have fueled distrust in Cerebrum IQ, leading the company to allegedly resort to tactics like removing or discrediting negative reviews. Despite these efforts, customer dissatisfaction continues to surface across various platforms, bringing into question the company’s transparency and ethical practices.

For more detailed reviews, you can check out the feedback on Trustpilot.

Potential Consequences for Cerebrum IQ

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)). 

Is Cerebrum IQ Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Cerebrum IQ used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Cerebrum IQ could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Cerebrum IQ have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Cerebrum IQ is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

What was Cerebrum IQ trying to hide?

Cerebrum IQ appears to be trying to hide a variety of negative reviews, complaints, and allegations related to unethical business practices and poor customer service. Here are the main concerns and adverse reports users have shared on platforms like Trustpilot and Sitejabber:

1. Misleading Advertising and False Promises:
   • Customers frequently report that Cerebrum IQ’s marketing is deceptive. The platform promises significant cognitive improvements and benefits that many users feel are exaggerated or unrealistic. This has led to dissatisfaction among those who expected more effective services based on the company’s claims.
2. Unauthorized Charges and Billing Issues:
   • One of the most common complaints is unauthorized credit card charges. Several users have mentioned signing up for what they believed were free trials or inexpensive services, only to find large sums charged to their accounts later. Many users expressed frustration over difficulty in canceling subscriptions or getting refunds​.
3. Difficult Cancellation and Poor Customer Support:
   • Customers frequently mention encountering roadblocks when trying to cancel their subscriptions. Despite repeated efforts to contact customer service, users report unresponsive or unhelpful support. This lack of transparency and support has fueled more negative feedback about the company​.
4. Questionable Business Practices:
   • There are allegations of predatory business practices, including making it difficult for users to understand the terms and conditions of the service or to cancel once signed up. Many customers believe the company intentionally hides these details to take advantage of consumers​.
5. Efforts to Suppress Negative Reviews:
   • Some users allege that Cerebrum IQ has made efforts to censor or remove negative feedback from the internet. This has included trying to take down critical reviews and challenging user complaints, raising further questions about the company’s transparency.

For more detailed feedback, you can explore reviews on Trustpilot and Sitejabber.

Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

How did Cerebrum IQ purport this DMCA Fraud?

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Cerebrum IQ creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Cerebrum IQ either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Cerebrum IQ , ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Not In Good Company

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Cerebrum IQ is in great company ….

Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on Cerebrum IQ , which is now associated with the worst of this world.

Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with Cerebrum IQ –

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”

José Antonio Gordo Valero

José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company. 

Diego Adolfo Marynberg

He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and Clarin, one of Argentina’s most prominent news sites.

Majed Khalil Majzoub

Majed is an influential businessman with close ties to several governments, including the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Majzoub’s name appears next to more than 180 URLs, mostly from independent outlets. Of the two URLs that pointed to articles from Germany’s Der Spiegel, one now returns an error message; the other, which appears to refer to relations between Venezuela and Colombia, directs to an unrelated story about Brexit. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is our next move?

Critical Intel will, in its capacity, do all it can to hold someone responsible for this incident. Here is what we are preparing for –

Since Cerebrum IQ  made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of Cerebrum IQ , including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in Cerebrum IQ .

A case perfect for the Streisand effect…

What else is Cerebrum IQ hiding?

Click here to visit the Google Search page for ‘Cerebrum IQ ’. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with us. If you have any information on Cerebrum IQ that you want to share with us, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.

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References and Citations Used

Over thirty thousand DMCA notices reveal an organized attempt to abuse copyright law.

Reputation Management, or Internet Conspiracy

Exposed documents reveal how the powerful cleaned up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm.

Companies Use Fake Websites and Backdated Articles to Censor Google’s Search Results.

Bad Reviews: How Companies Are Using Fake Websites to Censor Content

How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists

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Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.

Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of Cerebrum IQ censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”

• Our investigative report on Cerebrum IQ ‘s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that Cerebrum IQ has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.
• We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.
• You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.
• It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.
• We’ve reached out to Cerebrum IQ for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.

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About the Author

The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.