Police warn of Olympics-related scams in Pennsylvania

State police are warning Pennsylvanians to be wary of scams related to the Winter Olympics.
Among them:

• An email is sent that appears to come from the United States Olympic Committee. The sender of the email offers to pay the victim $350 a week to display Olympic material on their vehicle. Victims who respond to the email are sent a check for an amount greater than $350. The victims are instructed to deposit the check into their bank account and wire transfer any amount over $350 back to the company. Sadly, the checks sent by the scammer are counterfeit and the money that is wired back to the sender is deducted from the victim's bank account.

• Scammers may send emails advising recipients they won cash and a trip to South Korea through the Olympic lottery. The emails appear to be legitimate and may purport to come from a known Olympic sponsor such as McDonalds or Coca-Cola. The email will instruct the victim to pay income taxes or some type of administrative fee to claim the prize. The scammer keeps the payment and no prize money is awarded to the victim.

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State police also warn of common scams such as emails with malware, fake Olympics smartphone apps, dangerous social media links and counterfeit Olympic merchandise.

Here are some tips to avoid being scammed:

• Do not cash a check that is for more than an amount you are owed and comes with a request to send back the overpayment.
• Never click on a link or download an attachment unless you are positive it is legitimate. Even if the address of the sender appears correct, the address may have been "spoofed" to appear genuine.
• Recognize lottery taxes are either deducted before the prize is awarded or the entire prize is awarded to the winner, who is then personally responsible to pay the taxes which are due.
• Be cognizant that lottery winners are not typically charged administrative fees.
• Only download apps from authorized stores.
• When shopping online, use a credit card rather than a debit card because credit cards give you much greater consumer protection if your information is stolen.

If you feel you’ve been the victim of a scam, contact your local police.

Cox Media Group