Shopping for a homecoming dress online? Avoid scams
This fall, as high school students prepare for the fun of a homecoming dance, one thing they shouldn't be worrying about is whether their dress or attire will arrive.
But the Better Business Bureau Akron is reporting several local families and others nationwide who are getting scammed by online retailers who don't deliver on their goods.
In an alert on Friday, the BBB cautioned consumers to be aware of scams when ordering attire for homecoming or other events. Many fake sites are attracting customers with a discounted price, but the orders are never received after the items have been purchased and personal data may have been compromised.
The scam "is disappointing and saddens me to hear people losing out," said
"If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is," said Siegferth. "Looking through a company's website, checking reviews and verifying if they are an Accredited Business with BBB all are best practices when purchasing online. We advise consumers to ensure the company they are looking to purchase from clearly and prominently provides a direct and effect means to contact the company. This includes a phone number, physical address and email address."
Local customers scammed by fake homecoming sites
The BBB said an area parent lost over
Another consumer ordered a dress from PickInLove.com. The business sent a confirmation code, fake tracking information and status updates. Her daughter's homecoming came and went, but the dress never arrived. This website was less than a year old and has been taken down, the BBB said. The business' Facebook page has been active only since last July and does not have proper contact information.
BBB did not hear back from the businesses when requesting a physical address and phone number to provide consumers. I also attempted to reach both businesses and did not hear from either.
Here's some advice
The BBB suggests taking time to research a new website. Look closely at the URL to see if it is mimicking well-known brand names. Research the age of the domain, using caution with new websites. You can do that by going to https://www.godaddy.com/whois and search the domain registry to locate the date, Siegferth said. "This database also supplies information on who owns the domain and the last update to the site, she said.
Look for the "https" in the URL (the extra s is for "secure") and a small lock icon on the address bar. Read the website content carefully looking for typos or anything else indicating the website was put together quickly. Also, search for multiple ways (phone, email, physical address, online chat) to contact the business, not just an email address or online form.
Siegferth also recommends using a form of payment that can be reversed (i.e. credit card) when purchasing online. Using a credit card enables a level of protection to the consumer by encrypting the information sent over the web, she said.
Paying online with a debit card leaves the possibility of fraud at a greater risk. Additionally, putting a hold on your account that is believed to have experienced fraud using a debit card could leave you without funds for a length of time and disable payment to recurring bills such as utility, mortgage and insurance, she said.
Finally, if you are aware of a scam, or have been a victim of a scam, Siegferth asks readers please report it to BBB scam tracker (https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker) and the
More on widow's penalty
Last week, I shared an update about a column topic I wrote about in the summer about what's called the widow's or widower's penalty. I had written about a Suffield widower who was upset that his rate went up after his wife's death.
The practice occurs when some insurers hike the auto insurance rates of a person after a spouse dies. The state of
The group did a mini study of major
Using the same driver profile and address of a 35 year old man or woman living in
In the first test, the group found the Progressive six-month premium for a 35 year old married woman was
I had reached out to Progressive on Monday of the week I was working on the column for comment. I did not hear from them by my Friday deadline.
However, I did hear back from Progressive spokesman
"Our loss experience shows the single rating is actuarially more appropriate for Widow(er)s than would be a married rating," Sibel wrote. "For Progressive customers who's spouse has died while actively insured with us, we continue to rate the driver in the same married classification they had before their loss. This applies for the balance of that term and all subsequent policy terms. While we continue to rate the widowed driver as 'married' there may be factors (such as the number of drivers, vehicles, and complexion of the household) that impact rate when a policy is up for renewal."
In a follow-up email, Sibel confirmed that a new customer who is a widow or widower would be rated as a single and not married.
"The insurance company treats widows differently than people whose spouse hasn't yet died. The fact that they have an exception for existing customers doesn't mean they are not mistreating widows, just that they are mistreating slightly fewer of them," said DeLong, who called on the
"The company is basically saying, we'll keep you if you had been with us before, but otherwise widows need not apply. Even if it's just a small penalty, there is no reason the Department should allow insurance companies to charge widowed drivers more than married drivers for coverage the
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