On a weekly basis, the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce fields calls from people about whether businesses are legitimate and safe to do business with. We also get calls from people who were scammed out of their money by disreputable businesses.

These are difficult conversations, however, we do our best to provide advice on how to do business in Sheridan as safely and scam-free as possible.

We’ve compiled that advice below, along with tips from Sheridan Police Department Captain Tom Ringley. If you have any further questions about potential scams, please reach out to the Chamber at 307-672-2485 or info@sheridanwyomingchamber.org.

Is this business reputable?

To answer this question, start by doing your own research, Ringley said.

Do a Google search on the business. Does it have a reputable online presence?

Research the email addresses and physical addresses related to the business – have they been tied to scams in the past?

What types of payment does the business receive? Be cautious of businesses that ask you to pay with gift cards from other companies, such as Amazon or Apple — it’s a common red flag for scams, Ringley said.

Of course, you might not be able to answer all these questions yourself, Ringley said. That’s where local resources like the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce, the Sheridan Police Department and the Better Business Bureau of Northern Colorado and Wyoming come in.

The Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce maintains a database of over 200 scam calls it has received over the last five years. We can look up the business in question and share whether we have received previous calls about it.

Similarly, the Sheridan Police Department can provide a “scam screen” on a business in question, Ringley said. You can call the department at (307) 672-2413.

“We’re basically looking for whether the business looks familiar to us, or if it stands out as something we’ve received complaints about in the past,” Ringley said. “We will never give definitive advice on whether to do business with that company or not, but we will state whether we think there’s a potential for fraud.”

The Better Business Bureau also maintains a database of scam businesses, Ringley said. They can be reached at (970) 484-1348.

When talking with any business, be sure not to share any personal identifying information such as birthdate, social security number or driver’s license number, Ringley said. A legitimate business will never ask for that information, he said.

Ringley’s final piece of advice is simple: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” The Chamber’s advice is similar: If you think a business might be a scam after doing your research, it probably is. And if you have enough concerns about a business’s legitimacy to reach out to us about it, we’d advise exercising caution before making a purchase.

But what if I’ve already made a purchase?

If you’ve already made a purchase, and you haven’t received your item or received something different than what you ordered, it is time to report the crime.

Below are organizations you should call, in order of priority.

Call your credit card company and/or bank immediately and let them know about the situation.
Report it to the federal and state authorities. The Internet Crime Complaint Center – https://www.ic3.gov/ – is a federal agency that collects complaints about illegitimate businesses, and if they receive enough complaints about a particular business, they will investigate, Ringley said. The Chamber also refers folks to Kaleb Thompson, investigator for the consumer protection and antitrust division with the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office. He can be reached at 307-777-8962. You can also report the crime to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s business division at 307-777-7311.
Report to local organizations. The Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce can add the business to our database and so can the Better Business Bureau. You are also welcome to report the crime to the Sheridan Police Department, Ringley said, although the crimes are “difficult for us to investigate because many of those businesses’ websites run through servers that are outside our jurisdiction.”

While reporting the crime doesn’t mean you’ll get your money back, it does help take steps to ensure this same business won’t scam others. At the Chamber, we appreciate all who share their stories and do their part to make doing business in Sheridan as safe as possible.