We all wish the secret to weight loss --and better health --was as easy as taking a pill. Even better if it's free! But so-called "free trials" on the internet are more about your money than your health.

After a visit to her doctor, Linda Macmillan knew she had to make some small lifestyle changes. An advertisement she saw online for a "free trial" for a digestive cleanse caught her attention on the MSN website.

"I thought, I'm going to give it a try. And how can I lose? [It's only] six bucks," she said.

The $6 was for shipping only. The product had a 14-day money-back guarantee with a big catch that wasn't obvious. You have to return the product within 14 days of ordering otherwise you'd get charged. In Linda's case, $167 and she was signed up for a monthly subscription fee.

"I didn't even get it for 14 days and it came in a plain brown envelope," she said.

There was no product information. No directions on how to use it. And no Health Canada approval numbers either. Suspicious, Linda never used the product.

But she didn't know she had to send it back until she got the bill and she couldn't reach anyone at the company to answer her questions.

"The emails didn't work and the phone number on the bottle doesn't work," she said.

And the charges kept coming -- now totalling $275.

Her credit card company told her it's had lots of complaints but can't stop the charges without a cancellation number or without proof via registered letter that she's tried to stop the order.

Canada's Competition Bureau investigates products that just don't work as promised.

"In terms of the kinds of health complaints we get, there are approximately 150 per year, we take them very seriously," said the bureau's Victor Hammill.

Hammill says to be wary of wild claims and be skeptical of testimonials.

"Is the person even real? Is that the real person's name? And were they involved with the product? Testimonials are powerful. They make people believe that it can work," he said.

"You make an impulse buy and you've given out that credit card number. It can really come back to haunt you," said Linda.

Linda is still fighting to get her money back through her credit card company. If she gets it she says she'll donate it to charity.

The bottom line? When buying on the internet, buy from legitimate companies you've dealt with in the past and ignore all advertising. A fancy website or appealing ad is like a shiny lure on the end of a fishing line -- and you are the fish.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen