AMHERST, N.Y. — Prom season is right around the corner, and it is the perfect time for criminals to try and scam you and your kids out of thousands of dollars.
Dress scams are the biggest prom scam the Better Business Bureau sees. Websites sell bad prom dresses that look nothing like the pictures online.
"They think they're saving a ton of money. The dress comes a few days before the prom. It doesn't fit. It's not the color they wanted. It comes damaged. A sleeve is missing, and they have no way to get their money back. They have no way to return that dress in time for the event," said Melanie McGovern with the BBB of Upstate New York.
So, do your homework. Read the customer reviews. Know the return policy. Look for red flags.
"If the grammar is poor, if the pictures are pixilated, if all the pictures are different sizes, it might have been copied and pasted. Those are things you want to look for. If there's all kinds of different currencies to pay in, that means obviously it's an international seller," McGovern said.
If you're thinking about hiring a professional photographer, you need to read the fine print in the contract.
“You want to know how the photographer charges. Is it by the picture? Is it by the hour? Is it by the event?" McGovern said. "If people want to go to Delaware Park, I know it's a big place to get prom pictures taken, is the person going to travel with you? Do you have to drive them there?"
Is your teen is splitting the dinner or limo bill with other kids? There are convenient ways to pay using your phone, but you want to make sure they're doing it safely.
"Don't do it on a public Wi-Fi. Make sure that you have virus protection on your phone. A lot of people don't think about that kind of stuff. So, if someone says, 'Oh, can you send me $100 for the limo,' make sure you're sending that $100 to the right person, because if you get one letter wrong in a user name, that money's gone," McGovern said.
When it comes to that limo, know whether you pay by the event or by the hour and that they have enough cars. The BBB has gotten complaints about companies that overbook.
"With a BBB-accredited business, you know that we're vetted them. We've looked at their licensing. We've looked at their insurance, anything that they need from the Department of Transportation," McGovern said.
Remember, the scammers are out there looking for people looking for good deals, so be smart and do your research.
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