If you get a call from the city saying you have a late water bill, don’t pull out your credit card — call the police.
City officials reported that at least one scammer has been impersonating a city Water Department employee, calling homes and asking for back water payments.
“It has been brought to the city’s attention that some residents of the City of Olean have received phone calls from someone portraying to be an employee of the City of Olean Water Department requesting payment to bring a delinquent water account current,” the statement reads. “Please be aware that the City of Olean Water Department will never call you to request any payments. If you do receive a call requesting payment please contact the City of Olean Police Department at (716) 276-5677.”
For more information, contact the Water Department at 376-5657.
The city publicly lists all delinquent water accounts on its website, including the account number, the name of the primary account holder and the street address associated with the account, as well as the exact dollar amount. It does not list phone numbers for accounts.
The list, most recently updated on Tuesday, includes more than 1,000 accounts as delinquent for more than $606,000 in late bills. Delinquent bills range in size from around $35 to more than $25,000.
A similar list is created regularly for unpaid…
