A senior citizen widow in Orange had damage from Harvey and has filed for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A couple of days ago, she received a phone call from someone identifying himself as from the “government FEMA.”
She said the man asked for her social security number, but she did not give it. During the conversation, he asked about how much she expected to get from FEMA and at one point asked for her bank account number.
The woman ended the call without passing along any of her personal information, but she wants to warn people to be wary.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is also warning people. Deputy Janois Grizzaffi said the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, has contacted the sheriff’s office with information about problems that follow catastrophic events.
One problems is people impersonating FEMA inspectors. FEMA says to ask for the full proper identification. A shirt with FEMA embroidered on it or even simply a FEMA tag is not proof someone represents the agency.
Also, “strong-arm clean-up crews” prey on the elderly for their cash and don’t perform the jobs.
Another scam is disaster removal crews claiming more debris was removed than actually was. They can use false bottoms or water-weighted bottoms in dump trucks.
Identity theft and forged documents frequently occur in the aftermath of a disaster.
Fraudulent claims on damaged vehicles also are made.
And finally, people sometimes they falsely claim to live at an address to receive immediate assistance or other help.
People finding potential scams should contact their local law enforcement agency. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is 409-883-2612. The Orange Police Department is 409-883-1026. The Pinehurst Police Department is 409-886-2221. The West Orange Police Department is 409-883-7475. The Bridge City Police Department is 409-735-5028. The Vidor Police Department is 409-769-4561.
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