[caption id="attachment_5402" align="aligncenter" width="489"]Counterfeit Dresses[/caption]Prom 2014 is already a fabulous memory for most teens.  And the excitement for Prom 2015 is already building - even if it's almost a year away.  But buyers shopping online beware!  Please take a minute to read my 2015 plus size Prom dresses scam warning.  You'll be amazed at what you discover!   You could be ordering a counterfeit dress with sloppy sewing and poor fit. Or you may never get your dress.  Plus you may put your credit card at high risk. Here's how the five-step scam works. Step One:  Unscrupulous business people in China go online to steal images from US- based designers like Sydney's Closet.  These photos are our intellectual property protected by law.   We paid the models, the photographers, the stylists and the web designers tens of thousands of dollars to create these marketing photos.  The thieves in China don't have our permission to use them.. But that doesn't stop them.  They just steal the images.  And put their company name on them! Step Two:  The bad guys in China use our pretty pictures to build a slick web site focused on 2015 cheap plus size Prom dresses.  They put a very tempting price on the dress that is almost too good to be true.  And they certainly appear to be selling brands you know and love.  But in fact, they aren't authorized to sell these designs.  They just use authentic photos to sell Step Three:  What you see on the counterfeit web site  is not what you get.  And that's the scam. These Internet businesses don't have the materials it takes to make the dress they show in the picture including the original pattern, fabric and embellishments like beads.  What you get is a fake! Step Four:  The ruse doesn't stop with the dress.  The counterfeit site also take legitimate customer reviews and even pictures from US websites and repost them.  It's calculated to gain your confidence.  But if you read them closely you will see that they don't make sense.  For example, a review refers to the fabulous fit of an Empire design.  But the style pictured is a sheath.  And to seal the deal, factories making the fakes often offer free shipping from China.[caption id="attachment_5401" align="aligncenter" width="478"]Poorly made Counterfeit Dresses leave girls in tears![/caption] Step Five:  What if the dress never arrives?  Or it doesn't fit?  Or it's the wrong color, different fabric, poor stitching and itchy lining. Bottom line, you wasted your money on a Prom dress you can't wear. Basically, you're out of luck, out your money and out of time. Every Spring we get calls from panicked shoppers left in a last-minute fashion emergency because the plus size dress they ordered from a counterfeit site never came or looked more like a rag than a Prom gown. Fighting the Imposters I take this theft of  my designs - and the designs of my colleagues in the industry - very seriously.  I serve on the Board of Directors of the American Bridal and Prom Industry Association, a non-profit organization representing the special occasion dress industry.  Our mission is to protect our industry from the counterfeiters and to help shoppers like you to better understand the perils of buying a fake. Not sure if a website is an Authorized Retailer of Sydney's Closet prom gowns?  Just check our Store Locator or give us a call at 888.479.3639.