The National Center for Disaster Fraud today issued a reminder after Hurricane Ian to be on the lookout for people who seek to take advantage of the environment to line their own pockets.
The NCDF, a national coordinating agency, was created by a partnership between the Department of Justice and various law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
Its goal is to improve and further the detection, prevention, investigation, and prosecution of fraud related to natural and man-made disasters, and to advocate for the victims of such fraud.
The following examples of disaster-related fraud are based on over 200,000 historical complaints submitted to the NCDF:
- Fake charities immediately solicit donations using the names of well-known charities or appearing reasonable as related to a disaster
- Individuals impersonating government officials and insurance company representatives advising that disaster assistance will be made available should the potential victim provide a sum of money or personal identifiers such as date of birth, social security number, and bank account information (name of a financial institution, routing number, and account number)
- Individuals soliciting victims to invest in non-existent businesses and ventures offering recovery efforts such as cleanup, rebuilding and making structures, such as homes, more resistant to future disasters by elevating structures to minimize future flood risks
- Individuals overcharging for goods and services needed by victims of disaster, also known as price-gouging
In addition, based on the type of disaster, individuals are frequently victimized by the theft of property from businesses and residences abandoned because of a disaster (either pre-disaster evacuation or to obtain living accommodations because of damaged apartments and homes).
Recommended measures to avoid becoming a victim of disaster fraud:
- Only make donations to known charities and only after contacting the charity directly and not in response to an email, instant message, phone call, text, etc. A recommended step is to research the charity by visiting recognized charity information/rating websites such as Give.org, CharityNavigator.org, and CharityWatch.org
- Never click on a link in an unsolicited email, instant message, text, etc.
- Never assume that charity solicitations posted on the internet and social media are legitimate
- Avoid cash donations to charities - use a credit card or pay with a check
- Never transmit donations to a specifically named individual
- Charities do not seek donations via electronic funds (financial institution)/wire transfers, do not wire donations.
- Avoid being victimized by impersonators of government officials, insurance companies, investment companies, etc., by terminating the phone call or other exchange of information (e.g., email, texts) and calling the actual government agency, insurance company, and/or investment company directly using a well-advertised phone number or email address
Individuals who have been targeted by fraudsters or have been the victim of disaster-related fraud are encouraged to contact the NCDF at (866) 720-5721 or online at www.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm.
