{"id":496,"date":"2018-09-20T09:52:27","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T13:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=496"},"modified":"2018-09-20T10:24:56","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T14:24:56","slug":"disaster-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/disaster-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Scam Awareness Tips When Disaster Hits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As a state, we learned about the importance of storm preparedness in the wake of Irene.\u00a0 We are fortunate not to experience such disaster regularly.\u00a0 We express heartfelt concern for those devastated by the effects of Tropical Depression Florence.\u00a0 Though miles away from our homes in Vermont, such storms can still impact us indirectly.\u00a0 Vermonters may want to donate to charitable storm relief efforts, for example.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-498 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2018\/09\/Karen_Pike_emergancy_responders_042108__1_-720x478-367b175d-adb1-4c29-a785-fc326f303cb8-300x199.png\" alt=\"Emergency Response\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2018\/09\/Karen_Pike_emergancy_responders_042108__1_-720x478-367b175d-adb1-4c29-a785-fc326f303cb8-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2018\/09\/Karen_Pike_emergancy_responders_042108__1_-720x478-367b175d-adb1-4c29-a785-fc326f303cb8-452x300.png 452w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2018\/09\/Karen_Pike_emergancy_responders_042108__1_-720x478-367b175d-adb1-4c29-a785-fc326f303cb8.png 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For National Preparedness Month, and in the wake of an unfortunate disaster, we&#8217;re reminding folks to include the following scam tips in your disaster preparedness toolbox:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fake Charity Calls<\/strong>. Scammers prey on the vulnerability of people who want to help after a terrible disaster. Such scammers will pretend to be a charity, asking for donations. They may look legitimate, having a website or social media page (Facebook, Go Fund Me, etc.), or have instructions to text donations to a certain number.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tip: <\/strong>Do your research before giving to ensure the donation is not being sent to a fraudulent charity.\u00a0 Use sites like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.charitynavigator.org\/\">Charity Navigator<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.give.org\/\">BBB Giving Alliance<\/a> to check out the details of a charity.\u00a0 Get more helpful tips from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/media\/video-0160-charity-scams-after-disaster\">Federal Trade Commission<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fake Clean-up\/Repair Crew. <\/strong>After a storm hits, some illegitimate salespeople may knock on doors and offer to provide cleanup or repair services.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tip:<\/strong> Always check out a business before engaging their services.\u00a0 Ask for references and ask your friends for referrals.\u00a0 Get contracts in writing.\u00a0 Never offer upfront payment!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fake Relief.<\/strong> FEMA scams may make rounds, where callers or door-to-door \u201cinspectors\u201d claim they are from the agency, offering help.\u00a0 They may phish for your personal information or require payment from you to log your information.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tip:<\/strong> Don\u2019t pay anyone claiming to be from a disaster relief agency!\u00a0 Don\u2019t give out your information to unknown callers.\u00a0 If you are seeking governmental assistance, go directly to the source.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We hope your friends and loved ones are safe and well.\u00a0 If you or anyone you know has engaged with a scam, please contact the Consumer Assistance Program <a href=\"http:\/\/ago.vermont.gov\/cap\/\">ago.vermont\/gov\/cap<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a state, we learned about the importance of storm preparedness in the wake of Irene.\u00a0 We are fortunate not to experience such disaster regularly.\u00a0 We express heartfelt concern for those devastated by the effects of Tropical Depression Florence.\u00a0 Though miles away from our homes in Vermont, such storms can still impact us indirectly.\u00a0 Vermonters&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/disaster-scams\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Scam Awareness Tips When Disaster Hits<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4480,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[505444,481474,23005,505505,15946,505504,482450,505506],"class_list":["post-496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-charity","tag-consumer","tag-disaster","tag-door-to-door","tag-fema","tag-home-improvement","tag-scams","tag-upfront-payment","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":505,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions\/505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}