The City of Olean Police Department offers the following recommendations to assist citizens against scams designed to steal your money.

• Protect Yourself: Don’t give your credit card number to an unsolicited telemarketer and check out any deal before parting with your hard earned money.
• ASK QUESTIONS
  • Where did you get my name?
  • Can you send me written materials to back up your claims?
  • Explain all the risks involved in this investment.
  • Would you be willing to explain your proposal to my attorney?
  • What governmental agency supervises your activity?
  • How long has your company been in business?
  • How much of my money will go for fees and commissions?
  • Where will my money be held, exactly?
  • What type of written statements do you provide, how often will I receive them?
  • Who are the principals of your firm? Can you provide references for them?

***Swindlers may lie while answering these questions, but most likely they’ll
simply hang up in disgust because you are not an easy target. ***

• Don’t Get Taken: Don’t let greed overcome common sense.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Get a second opinion.
• Never Reveal Your "Vital Numbers”: credit card, social security, bank account, or any pin numbers to verify a contest or to become eligible for a low cost vacation or any other fabulous offers.
• Be Wary of the following:
  • High pressure sales
  • No risk investments
  • Demands for cash only
  • Delayed delivery
  • Need for quick decisions
  • Secret deals
• Be Sure any email you get is from a trusted source.
• Do not give out any of the above listed information in an email response
• Any check received in the mail that was not expected should be checked out by your bank before attempting to cash it.

***The Olean Police Department may investigate any complaints that appear to be fraudulent but due to the large amount of scams it is impossible to investigate all reports. Quite often, scammers are located out of the country. ***