Kentucky Storm and Flood Survivors Urged to Beware of Frauds and Scams

FRANKFORT, Ky – Kentuckians recovering and rebuilding from recent storms and flooding are urged to watch for and report any suspicious activity or potential fraud.

Even as government agencies and charitable groups continue to provide disaster assistance, scam artists and other criminals may attempt to prey on vulnerable survivors, including the disabled and elderly. The most common post-disaster fraud practices include phony housing inspectors, fraudulent building contractors or repair service providers, taking money before work is performed, shoddy work, identity theft, bank account or credit card phishing, price gouging, bogus pleas for disaster donations, and fake offers of state or federal aid.

Scam attempts can be made over the phone, by mail, email, or in person. Con artists are creative and resourceful, so survivors are encouraged to remain alert, ask questions and require identification when someone claims to be an official or represent a government agency.

Survivors should also keep in mind that state and federal workers never ask for or accept money, and always carry identification badges with a photograph. No fee required to apply for or to get disaster assistance from FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or the Commonwealth. Additionally, no state or federal government disaster assistance agency will call to ask for your financial account information; unless you place a call to the agency yourself, you should not provide personal information over the phone.

Those who suspect fraud can call the FEMA Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 (toll free). For more information, contact the Commonwealth of Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection at 1-888-432-9257.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585 (TTY).

For more information on Kentucky’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov or http://kyem.ky.gov.

On Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/KYEmergencyManagement. To receive Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/kyempio or www.twitter.com/femaregion4.