Experts are warning of fake prom dress websites. Here's how to spot the phony ones.

Online shoppers looking for prom dresses are urged to be extra careful as there's an uptick in scams targeting teens and families.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Visa are both warning consumers to pause before making a purchase.

"We see a lot of bait and switch websites right now going on," said Claire Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the BBB Metro New York.

She said these websites often have whimsical names, painting the perfect prom picture. It makes it look like the buyer is shopping from a legitimate boutique. 

"They're showing you these beautiful accessories, dresses, everything else. They're putting some sort of a story with it, like it's a family-owned business," Rosenzweig said. 

Visa's risk department said they are seeing the same trend. 

Red flags to look for

Kausar Kenning, Visa's vice president of intelligence and controls, said teens are being directed to fraudulent websites. 

Kenning said if the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

She also said to look out for the return policy. If it's vague or the contact information is unclear, chances are the buyer may never receive the dress they were expecting.

Another thing to watch out for is non-traditional payment requests like sending money through peer-to-peer payment apps. These platforms don't offer the same protections as credit cards. 

"Visa has that zero liability protection so that if you do report a scam, report fraud, you're not going to be held liable for that," Kenning said.

Scammers are also preying on emotions, hoping consumers will make a quick purchase before thinking. 

"Scammers really have that emotional IQ," Kenning said. "They prey on those vulnerabilities like, 'Oh my god, there's only one more dress left at that price. I want to hurry and get this deal.'"

How to make sure the online shop is real

Experts say they are seeing an increase in the use of AI to create these websites, so it's important to make sure they are real.   

First, reverse search the dress to see if the same photos appear on other websites at vastly different prices. 

Second, if there's a physical address for the store, use Google Street View to see if the location actually exists.