Greg's Corner

Scammers descend on flooded areas

By Greg Collier

If you follow the news, you’ve probably heard of the devastating floods that have affected parts of Appalachia, including Virginia, West Virginia, and especially Kentucky. Countless families have been displaced from their homes. Unfortunately, scammers will be using these disasters to try to fleece an already distraught victim pool. To make matters worse, the scammers will do this posing as federal agents offering assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, also known as FEMA, is warning residents of the flood-affected areas to be aware of scammers posing as FEMA agents. In one of the more popular FEMA scams, scammers will call affected victims offering assistance with an application for a FEMA disaster grant. What the scammer really wants is the victim’s personal information, including their Social Security number, so the scammer can get the grant money using the victim’s name.

In a variation of the advance fee scam, scammers, acting as FEMA agents, will ask for a fee that they say is required for a grant application. This is false, as it’s free to apply for a FEMA disaster grant.

In order to better protect yourself, do not give any personal information to someone claiming to be a FEMA inspector. Inspectors do not need your personal information and are not authorized to do so. Unless you’ve already filed for a disaster grant, FEMA will not call you out of the blue. As with most government agencies, you need to contact FEMA first before any progress on your application can be made. Also, no FEMA agent should ask for your application number, as legitimate agents will already have it.

Lastly, if you receive a letter from FEMA but haven’t filed an application yet, a scammer may have tried to file for a grant in your name. If this is the case, you can call the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

Please keep in mind that even if you’re not currently residing in a disaster area, you could someday and these tips will apply to you as well.