Des Moines, IA – State Auditor Rob Sand today (Wednesday) urged Iowans and their community leaders to be on alert for people preying on victims of the flooding in Iowa. Sand says “Iowans are known for rallying around victims of natural disasters.  Communities come together to help with clean-up and provide for people who have lost everything. Unfortunately, natural disasters are also calling cards for con artists.”

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the most common fraud following a natural disaster includes fake housing inspectors and building contractors, phony disaster donation efforts, and calls or texts requiring account information in exchange for financial assistance. Sand says “These scammers are not stupid.  They’re sneaky. They’ll use all means to try to steal personal and public funds – phone calls, texts, emails.  They’ll even pose as government officials to get account information or social security numbers.”

Sand offers these tips for avoiding scams in the wake of natural disasters:

• Never give out social security numbers or account information over the phone or via text or email.
• Confirm that emails from vendors are legitimate by calling the vendor through a verified number, not the number in the email.
• Never pay a contractor a large sum of money upfront.
• Make checks for materials payable to the contractor and the supplier.
• Request a copy of the contractor’s liability insurance information.
• Require that all work be outlined in a contract, including completion dates and costs for materials, permits, and labor.
• Get at least three estimates from contractors and be leery of “too good to be true” offers.
• Federal and state workers will never ask for money and will always carry identification badges.