Who is behind the scam? The ads appeared in Smart Source Magazine supplements on January 16, 1999. The company has a mailbox fullfillment center and is doing businessas: Aebion 4936 Yonge St., Suite 261 North York, Ontario, M2N 6S3 Canada The address given for the parent company is: Mr. Wim de Vrijer Aebion Worldwide Trading A.V.V. Sun Plaza, Suite 306 Lloyd G. Smith Blvd. 160 Oranestad Aruba Dutch Antilles The publisher of the Smart Source: News Canada Marketing 130 King St. W. Suite 2140 Toronto, ON M5X 1C7 416-681-6766 Ask for Catherine Reale to complain This is a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. He is on the board of directors of Philip Morris, and his own board of directors looks like a tobacco company executive's dream.

Who ya' gonnna' call? The phone number for ordering the Diet Patch is the same as last year. In Canada just call 1-888-291-8885 to get screwed. It's nothing more than a phone shop. They won't tell you anything useful when you call to order. If I were you, just pick up the phone and call Kathleen Irish at DGA (David Geller Agency). She still works for DGA even after my complaint about the Chinese Diet Tea was made to the Canadian Competition Bureau and to Health Canada. David Geller must love her because she never did cooperate with FAT CITY's requests, and the company is still in business. Kathleen Irish's phone number is 905-470-0560, and their fax number is 905-470-0561. I suggest that anyone who wants to should call her, and find out what other fine products that DGA represents.

Why is this ad so deceptive? First of all, the ad is positioned next to ads for legitimate products like Doubleday Book Club, Ragu sauces, Keri Lotion, Science Diet, Dristan, Celestial Seasonings, Sunlight Detergent, Kotex, High Liner, The Franklin Mint, Smart Ones, Country Crock, The Bay, Gas-X, and other major Canadian companies. It is full-paged and in full-colour. Secondly, it isn't in a tabloid. It has appeared in Ladies Home Journal and a pile of other women's magazines around the world. Here are some e-mail letters that we received last year in response to my request for information on Aebion scams around the world: "I saw the ad in a Ladies Home Journal. It said 30 patches for $29.95. Apply a new patch every morning. It's suppose to curb your cravings and increase your metabolism up to 30 lbs in 30 days. I know it sounds too good to be true. The ph # is 800-827-4661. I don't know if it works. I was hoping someone else had tried it before I waste my $ again."