Unfortunately, there are no known products on the market that can burn off fat overnight, guarantee sexual prowess, increase bust size, or cure cancer.

This fact does not keep fraudulent advertisers from preying on consumer vanities and fears and reaping millions of dollars each year. While many consumers suffer only a monetary loss, some may actually delay much needed medical treatment because of their belief in the ad claims.

You should be careful in accepting ads for health products that make the following claims:

Overnight medical cures and treatments which are effortless and painless.

■ Ads that offer an opportunity to obtain pills, ointments, wraps, and paraphernalia which have been "chemically tested in Europe" by a world famous researcher.

■ Products "developed after years of secret research" and "proven to provide immediate positive results."

■Testimonials from famous medical experts or satisfied

consumers.

Recent years have seen a rise in ads offering-for a fee-credit repair services to consumers with bad debt histories. These deceptive ads are characterized by promises to obtain credit cards regardless of credit rating or erase a bad credit history.

Product misrepresentations are one of the most difficult forms of deceptive advertising to detect. When in doubt, request a sample! As a rule, publishers and broadcasters should be cautious when accepting ads that feature the following characteristics:

■ Merchandise advertised at well-below market value for a limited time only. This technique is a common feature of ads for electronics, such as computer hardware or software and video equipment. Often, the consumer can only order the product by phone.

Off brand merchandise with names similar to
nationally recognized brands.

■ Vague product descriptions.

High profile issues, such as airline deregulation, give the con artist a new lure to defraud the American public. Fraudulent ads usually offer exciting travel opportunities at extremely low prices. Publishers should be cautious when they see:

An offer accompanied by a certificate for free or very low cost travel.

Offers for free exotic trips, travel over a period of years, and free coupons with membership.

Vague descriptions of services and accommodations.

AD CLEARANCE TIPS

Although some advertisements include pictures of the product, experience with misrepresented promotions shows that too often the picture bears little resemblance to the item sold to the public.

Ask for a sample of the merchandise when the ad is in the least bit suspicious. Obtain a production sample, not a handmade mockup. If the advertiser cannot submit the sample before the closing date, pass, and wait until the next closing date.

When you get the sample and you feel certain copy changes should be made to make the offer more representative, ask for them. You will be surprised how many advertisers are glad to comply with your request.

If the advertiser is new to your publication or station and plans to run a large ad, check to verify integrity, stability, and performance of the advertiser.

The Better Business Bureau, the local consumer agencies, and the Postal Inspector in the advertiser's area are good sources to check. Better yet, alert those agencies when you have had a bad experience as well.

Here are some warning signals:

1. Experience trains your intuition. If some intuitive reaction tells you to check an ad out very thoroughly, do so. Don't let it slip by.

2. If a large order was too easy to get-be suspicious. Check out the credit. Check out the source.

3. When the buy isn't smart-wrong season, wrong regions, wrong product for your publication-investigate. Some advertisers flood the market with impressive looking contracts, knowing that many will be accepted.

4. When an advertiser breaks all the rules in setting up an ad, be suspicious. He may indeed be the new creative genius on the scene but, more often than not, something

is awry.