If the price of that prom dress you've been eying on a funky-looking website is too good to be true, it probably is.
As prom season kicks off, experts warn excited young girls to be wary of fraudulent websites run by scammers who lure customers by posting designer dresses for a bargain, WITI-TV reported. But once the dress comes in the mail, it's nothing like the one pictured online.
That's what happened to Jordan Winkler, who paid $200 for a dress from a discount website.
"I ordered one and it came in the mail and it looked nothing like the dress that I ordered," Winkler told WITI. It cost an extra $300 to replace the scam dress she bought.
Another victim also received a dress that was nothing like the one advertised online. She tried contacting the vendor, only to be taken advantage of a second time.
"We called the number on the website and they directed us to customer service and countless times I tried to call and get through to somebody," she told WITI. "Nobody would answer. Nobody returned my calls."
Officials from the Better Business Bureau say they are aware of online scammers who prey on hopeful high schoolers looking for a perfect dress for a fraction of the cost. But it's hard to track down the culprits because they usually operate overseas and can shutdown the websites within a day.
"Nothing is sacred anymore," Steve Bernas of the Better Business Bureau told the station.
So, in order to prevent falling prey to the prom dress con, WITI offered a few tips: steer clear of websites that don't show the dress designer's name, if the website operates outside the U.S. and if the contact numbers are difficult to find.
