Hurricanes Helene and Milton left behind damage that some people may never recover from, and the federal government is reminding people to be aware of potential scammers who may try to take advantage of the storms’ victims.
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“As a federal prosecutor, one of the things that I’ve seen is that in the aftermath of the storm, a lot of times, there are individuals who try to take advantage of an opportunity,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg.
“One is what we call charity fraud,” Handberg continued. “Several individuals are going to take advantage of the fact that people’s hearts are going to go out to those impacted by natural disasters, and some of these individuals are going to try to use that, and [create] fake charities.”
According to Handberg, the scam will most likely be delivered via phone or email, and any “unsolicited communication” should not be given a response.
Since 2005, the organization has received more than 220,000 complaints, which includes the charity fraud Handberg mentioned as well as imposter fraud, which occurs when people pretend to be government officials or insurance agents.
Since 2005, Handberg has prosecuted 30 people who claimed Katrina destroyed or damaged their property.
“If you called up or submitted a claim and said you lived in an affected area of New Orleans, you could get checks for $2,000 and it really spread through word of mouth,” he said.
The rampant fraud that followed Hurricane Katrina is what led to the Justice Department’s creation of the National Center for Disaster Fraud.
Handberg provided some tips to prevent falling victim to disaster scammers, including how to identify a real FEMA inspector, who typically wears FEMA shirts and has accompanying badges and identification.
He also reminded people that no FEMA inspector will ask for money to receive a government benefit or an insurance payment.
“For [many] fraudsters, your personal information is the key to the kingdom...They can use that to commit all sorts of fraud, so make sure you know who you’re dealing with.”
Finally, if you do happen to fall victim to a disaster fraud scam, report it because the government has teams dedicated to tracking the scammer and working to make sure they are not able to repeat the crime.
“When we pursue those cases, we do so with the intent of getting an appropriate sentence for anyone who engages in it,” Handberg said.