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If you suffered damage from Hurricane Dorian, or if you’re looking for ways to help those in need, start at ftc.gov/weatheremergencies. You’ll find ways to spot the scams that often follow disasters.

After a storm like Hurricane Dorian, scammers often target people who need to get their homes cleaned up or repaired, or find a new place to rent. Scammers might pose as a government official, asking for financial information or money to apply for aid that you can request on your own for free. Whatever the story, they often demand that you pay by gift card, prepaid card, or by wiring money. And that’s always a scam.

Charity scams also get active after a hurricane. If you’re thinking about donating to help people affected by Dorian, start with research and planning so your donations get where they’ll do real good.

Charity Scams After a Disaster

And if you’re in an area affected by the storm, you can add local contacts to this one-page handout, Picking Up the Pieces after a Disaster, print copies, and hand them out in your community.

Spotted a scam? Report it at ftc.gov/complaint.

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
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  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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HelloWorld
September 11, 2019
This is incredibly helpful. Thank you.
Ms.Muggi
September 11, 2019
thanks for the INFO'S,we are living in a terrible Time
ALaure21
September 15, 2019
It saddens me whenever there is a calamity, especially if a family is financially incapable, there are instances that they had to transfer from one location to another without anything. It's really difficult. That's why I usually save at least 10% of what I earn monthly. In cases of emergencies like hurricanes, thunderstorms, earthquakes or any other situation we face, we can be ready and we have savings to start again.