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  • Geebo 9:00 am on November 15, 2024 Permalink | Reply
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    A FEMA Scam Warning for All Disasters 

    A FEMA Scam Warning for All Disasters

    By Greg Collier

    In the wake of Hurricane Helene, FEMA is urging residents of Georgia, and all Americans, to be on high alert for scams and fraudulent schemes. Natural disasters, while bringing communities together in times of need, unfortunately also provide opportunities for criminals to exploit vulnerable individuals. These deceptive tactics often aim to steal money or sensitive personal information from those already facing significant challenges.

    Fraudulent activities can take many forms in the aftermath of a disaster. One common method involves the unauthorized use of personal information, such as Social Security numbers and addresses, to apply for FEMA assistance. This can result in individuals discovering fraudulent claims made in their name, sometimes only after a FEMA inspector visits their home, or they receive an unexpected letter from the agency.

    If you are contacted by a FEMA representative or inspector, and you have not applied for assistance, it is crucial to act promptly. Inform the FEMA inspector that you did not submit an application, allowing them to flag the fraudulent claim and halt its processing. Similarly, if you receive a letter from FEMA regarding assistance you did not request, contact the FEMA Helpline immediately at 1-800-621-3326 to address the issue. Should you decide to seek assistance after reporting a fraudulent claim, FEMA will guide you through submitting a legitimate application.

    FEMA officials stress that their representatives, including Disaster Survivor Assistance teams and housing inspectors, will always carry official photo identification. Importantly, FEMA does not charge for its services. Assistance applications, disaster inspections, and other forms of support are provided at no cost. Any promise of expedited grants or benefits in exchange for payment is a clear red flag of fraudulent activity. Additionally, FEMA inspectors are not authorized to request your banking or financial information during their visits.

    If you suspect fraudulent activity or believe you have been targeted, report it immediately to your local law enforcement or contact Georgia’s Consumer Protection Division through the Office of the Attorney General. Taking swift action helps protect your personal information and ensures that legitimate disaster recovery efforts can continue unhindered.

    FEMA’s warning applies not just in Georgia, but across the United States, wherever natural disasters may strike. Whether facing hurricanes, floods, wildfires, or any other emergencies, staying informed and cautious is essential to safeguarding yourself and your community.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 15, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Maui wildfires bring out the scammers 

    Maui wildfires bring out the scammers

    By Greg Collier

    In case you haven’t been following the news, the island of Maui in Hawaii has been experiencing the worst wildfires in over a century. And whenever there is a natural disaster of this scale, the scammers are sure to follow. In that vein, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is trying to get ahead of the scammers and has issued a warning not only to the residents of Maui, but also those looking to help the victims of the fires.

    The first type of scam the FTC is warning residents about is the FEMA impersonation scam. After natural disasters, scammers will often impersonate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to try to get personal information or money from victims of the disaster.

    Fraudsters masquerade as FEMA representatives and contact individuals, offering aid related to disaster relief or financial support.

    These impostors deploy a variety of tactics to target potential victims, utilizing means like phone calls, emails, text messages, or social media posts. They might assert that the person has been granted financial aid, or insist on the need for personal particulars to facilitate aid distribution.

    After winning the victim’s confidence, the scammers proceed to request sensitive personal and financial data, including Social Security numbers, bank account specifics, or credit card particulars. Additionally, they might solicit funds or persuade the victim to acquire gift cards under the guise of receiving assistance.

    In actuality, authentic FEMA representatives never solicit personal or financial details through phone calls or emails, nor do they ask for monetary contributions or gift cards as prerequisites for disaster relief. Should you receive a suspicious communication purporting to be from FEMA, it’s advisable to directly contact the agency to authenticate the legitimacy of the message.

    Then there are the charity scams, which almost always appear following a disaster like this. Individuals seeking to contribute to a relief fund should exercise caution when encountering phone or email solicitations from entities with generic names such as ‘Disaster Relief Fund’. If a charitable organization seems to be exerting undue pressure on you to donate, whether via phone conversations or online platforms, there’s a strong likelihood that they are operating as scammers.

    You have the option to verify a charity’s authenticity by visiting platforms like Charity Navigator and Give.org. These resources can provide insights into which charities are genuine and which ones should be approached with skepticism. Additionally, you can cross-check with the IRS to determine whether a charity is officially registered with them; this step significantly contributes to establishing the legitimacy of the charity.

    And please keep in mind, you can always donate money or blood to the Red Cross. This will not only help the people of Maui but the victims of other disasters as well.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 4, 2023 Permalink | Reply
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    Scams warned in wake of devastating storms 

    Scams warned in wake of devastating storms

    By Greg Collier

    A series of devastating storms recently ravaged parts of the South and the Midwest. At least 50 tornadoes touched down, leaving much destruction in their wakes. To make matters worse, another series of dangerous storms is expected later today. Sadly, the havoc left by the storms is only part of what residents of these areas will have to deal with. Whenever there is a natural disaster, scammers always follow to prey on the victims.

    The one state that appears to have been devastated most by the recent storms is Arkansas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a warning to the residents of Arkansas that can apply to any area that’s experienced a disaster. One of the most common scams FEMA agents see is scammers impersonating FEMA itself.

    Scammers pose as representatives of FEMA and contact individuals to offer assistance with disaster relief or financial aid.

    The scammers may use various methods to reach out to potential victims, including phone calls, emails, text messages, or social media messages. They may claim that the individual has been approved for financial assistance, or that they need to provide personal information in order to receive aid.

    Once the scammers have gained the trust of the victim, they may ask for personal and financial information, such as Social Security numbers, bank account information, or credit card numbers. They may also ask the victim to send money or purchase gift cards as a way to receive aid.

    In reality, FEMA representatives will never ask for personal or financial information over the phone or email, and they will never ask for money or gift cards in exchange for disaster relief. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from FEMA, you should contact the agency directly to verify the authenticity of the communication.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on August 26, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    Scam Round Up: Funeral scammers and more 

    Scam Round Up: Funeral scammers and more

    By Greg Collier

    It’s been a while since we had a scam round up. To any new readers, this is where we bring you a number of short scam stories. These stories usually can either be told quickly or are reminders of past scams.

    ***

    Earlier this month, we posted a story warning victims of floods to look out for scammers posing as FEMA agents. We also warned that scammers might also file FEMA claims in the victim’s name, while claiming any financial assistance for themselves.

    A report out of Kentucky, where floods recently devastated a portion of the state, says that flood victims are starting to see FEMA agents show up to their home when they never filed a claim. One victim had a FEMA claim filed under her maiden name and had FEMA agents show up to her home looking to make an inspection.

    If you think a FEMA claim might have been filed in your name, contact the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

    ***

    Speaking of government agencies, Medicare is probably the most targeted agency when it comes to scammers. What makes it worse, is that the scammers need someone enrolled in Medicare to scam the government.

    The Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning about the latest Medicare scam targeting recipients. Scammers are calling Medicare recipients and offering them free COVID-19 tests. Scammers actually want the recipient’s Medicare information, so they can fraudulently bill Medicare for a service or item the insured never receive.

    Please keep in mind that free COVID tests are easily available through the USPS website and are available to anyone.

    ***

    Lastly, we think this story might just be the lowest we’ve ever seen scammers stoop, and that covers a lot of ground.

    Recently, a family from Illinois had to deal with the tragic loss of their 16-year-old son. When a tragedy like this makes the local news, it’s almost a guarantee that the GoFundMe scammers come out of the woodwork, and that’s exactly what happened. Fake GoFundMe pages started springing up claiming to be collecting for the family. But that wasn’t the worst thing that happened.

    According to the family, there were scammers who were physically at their son’s funeral collecting money from mourners, stating that they were collecting for the family. Thousands of dollars were allegedly collected by the scammers at the funeral.

    GoFundMe is actually pretty good when it comes to cracking down on scammers once notified. They’ve stated that the money given to the phony GFM pages has not been released to scammers and can be returned to anyone who donated.

    It’s a travesty that a family dealing with the loss of a child had to deal with such a disregard for human decency.

    Unfortunately, we don’t have a recommendation on how to keep scammers out of funeral. It seems like such a grim thought to think that a funeral might need security.

    ***

     

  • Geebo 8:04 am on August 2, 2022 Permalink | Reply
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    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.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 15, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Tornado victims could also be victims of scams 

    Tornado victims could also be victims of scams

    By Greg Collier

    The other day, we discussed how charity scams could follow in the wake of the recent tornadoes that struck the South and Midwest. We’d be remiss if we didn’t also discuss the scams that could be targeting the tornado victims. As is almost always the case, whenever disaster strikes, scammers are sure to follow. It doesn’t matter how extensive the damage or loss of life is, scammers have no qualms about preying on those who’ve already lost everything. Once again, the State of Kentucky has issued a warning to its residents about these potential scams. While you may not currently live in a disaster area, having these tips will leave you better prepared in case you are.

    Disasters like this, and others, will always bring in the shady contractors. They usually come from out of state and approach the property unsolicited. Scammers will ask you to pay in full upfront. Legitimate contractors will have licenses that you can ask to see along with their proof of insurance. Scammers will take your money and do little if any work repairing your home. The State of Kentucky has also warned its residents to be wary of any contractor who claims to be FEMA certified or FEMA referred them to you. FEMA offers no such certification or service.

    Speaking of FEMA, another popular disaster scam is when scammers pose as FEMA but claim they need a payment in order to offer you any kind of disaster relief. This is known as the advance fee scam. FEMA impersonators may also try to steal your identity by asking for personal information.

    The same goes for phone scammers who may try to impersonate your home insurance company. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your insurance company, don’t give them any personal information. Instead, you should hang up and either call your local agent or the customer service phone number listed on your policy.

    You can find more tips on how to avoid these scams at this link.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on June 8, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Scammers are combing obituaries for new victims 

    By Greg Collier

    As we have discussed before, if you’ve lost a loved one to COVID-19, you could be eligible to have part or all of the funeral expenses paid for under FEMA’s American Rescue Plan. Under the plan you could be reimbursed up to $9,000 for funeral expenses. As you can probably guess, this has led scammers to try to take advantage of the program. In order to accomplish that, scammers need not only the information of the deceased, but the information from the surviving family members as well.

    The way scammers achieve this is by posing as FEMA agents or the organization itself. Scammers will send out robocalls, emails and text messages posing as FEMA asking victims to contact them. Any contact information the victims are given does not go to FEMA but to the scammers instead. The victims will not only be asked for personal information concerning themselves and the deceased., but they may be asked for an upfront payment disguised as a ‘processing fee’. It’s already been documented that scammers have tried to obtain the death certificates of COVID-19 victims so they can try to claim the program money for themselves.

    According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers are even combing the local obituaries to get as much information about the deceased and their families as possible. However, this scam does have its drawbacks if you know a couple of items of information. Government agencies like FEMA very rarely initiate first contact, and if they do, they will do so through traditional channels like postal mail.

    If you have lost a loved one to COVID-19 and require financial assistance for funeral expenses, you have our most sincere condolences. If you would like to apply for FEMA’s assistance you can do so at FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance webpage.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 21, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Was a death certificate stolen for a FEMA scam? 

    Was a death certificate stolen for a FEMA scam?

    By Greg Collier

    Back in February, we discussed how scammers stopped a federal assistance program from being rolled out. As of the time of our previous post, FEMA had not started their funeral assistance program for people who passed away from COVID-19 in 2020. Due to the amount of fraud that was affecting state unemployment systems during the pandemic, FEMA decided to hold back while they came up with a potential solution. Earlier this month, FEMA announced that they would begin processing applications for funeral assistance, and it looks like the scammers may have already started to try to take advantage of the system.

    A woman in Tennessee lost her husband late last year to COVID-19. He was working the frontline as a nurse when he contracted the virus. Even though it’s been a number of months, his widow is still dealing with the loss of her husband. She recently received a call asking if she had sent her husband’s death certificate to Texas. She had not and believes that someone was using her husband’s death certificate to try to apply for FEMA benefits in his name. When this potential scam was first announced we wondered if all it would take to scam FEMA would be a forged or stolen death certificate.

    Unfortunately, there’s not a lot that you can do to protect yourself from this scam. If you ever had the unfortunate experience of arranging a funeral for a loved one and handling their estate, you know that you have to provide a copy of the deceased’s death certificate to a number of different people. The only thing that FEMA seems to be recommending at this point is that if you’ve been scammed you can call FEMA at 800-621-3362.

    Sadly, this again shows that scammers will try to take advantage of any situation no matter how devastating it may be to the victim. When scammers reach a new low like this, we’re both surprised and yet not surprised. Scammers know no bounds of human decency and will try to take advantage of anyone as long as it can make them some money.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 26, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    Scams can bring federal programs to their knees 

    Scams can bring federal programs to their knees

    By Greg Collier

    Prior to the start of the pandemic, many of us looked at scammers as minor annoyances. “They might fool a few people, but they’d never be able to fool me.” many of us said. Then when the pandemic happened in full force, scammers were everywhere. Not only did every old scam have a new COVID-19 twist to it, but the scammers were now attacking federal and state governments to the tune of billions of dollars. You may not be fooled by a scammer, but as the unemployment scam showed us, you may not have a choice. Now, a federal relief program has yet to roll out due to the scams that may surround it.

    FEMA has a fund to help pay for funerals for people who were lost in certain disasters. This includes deaths related to COVID-19 for 2020. However, here we are near March 2021 and FEMA has yet to issue any assistant payments for these funeral expenses. With half a million people having passed from COVID-19, FEMA realizes that this could open them to the same amount of fraud that has affected the unemployment system. FEMA is working with the CDC to try to find a way to make sure that these assistant payments get to the people who actually need them.

    All it could take is a forged death certificate for scammers to start trying to collect money from FEMA. And with states reporting deaths in different ways, this could lead to a lot of confusion. The other aspect this scam shares with the unemployment scam is that FEMA will be dealing with a record amount of funeral reimbursement requests since the country has never dealt with this many deaths before due to one single disaster.

    If you’ve ever had to suddenly plan for a loved one’s funeral, you’ll know how expensive funerals can be. Thanks to scammers, more people will be out of more money until more safeguards are put in place to prevent such widespread fraud.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 19, 2021 Permalink | Reply
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    More cold weather scams to be aware of 

    By Greg Collier

    When we think of natural disasters, we normally think of things like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes. However, the current brutal winter conditions that a large part of the country are currently enduring is also a natural disaster. As such, the current climate crisis is bringing scammers out of the woodwork. We’ve already touched upon how scammers are using the power outages to steal your information or gain access to your home, but other scams are starting to emerge as well.

    In Texas, where residents have been the hardest hit by the cold, FEMA is warning residents about a scam propagating on social media. In this scam, fake social media accounts are posing as FEMA and are listing a phone number for residents to call so they can be provided with a free hotel room. As of the time of this writing, FEMA is not providing any hotel room assistance, however, they are providing other emergency services to the Lone Star State. FEMA hasn’t stated what the purpose of this scam is, but one could assume it’s designed to steal your identity, money, or both.

    While Texas is feeling the brunt of the current weather situation, other states are dealing with the record-breaking weather as well. States in The Great Plains and Midwest are also dealing with rolling blackouts, just not on the level of Texas. Like any other natural disaster, this has the potential for some retailers and lodgings to start price gouging. Most states have laws preventing vendors from excessively raising their prices during a time of crisis. If you encounter price gouging, it’s recommended that you document the incident and report it to the state’s Attorney General office. Price gouging can also happen where an emergency has not been declared, so be on the lookout for that if you’re leaving your current state for a neighboring state that may not be going through the same crisis.

     

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