After a disaster, scam artists, identity thieves and other criminals often attempt to take advantage of disaster survivors, FEMA says.
FEMA officials encourage survivors to watch for and report any suspicious activity.
You can protect your identity and stay informed by doing these easy things:
- DHS, FEMA, SBA and other federal agencies will never charge you for disaster assistance.
- Always ask to see I.D. FEMA personnel will always have an official identification badge.
- Do not offer any personal information unless you are speaking with a verified FEMA representative.
- Stay tuned to trusted local media for updates from your local officials on disaster fraud and scams.
- Check with local law enforcement to ensure your identity is protected.
If you think you've been contacted by a scammer, you can contact the FEMA Investigations and Inspections Division by email: StopFEMAFraud@fema.dhs.gov or by phone at 866-223-0814
There are other ways to take action:
- Contact your state consumer protection offices.
- Report corruption, fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement or misconduct to DHS Office of the Inspector General.
- File a complaint with the National Center for Disaster Fraud.
- Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report and recover from identify theft.
If a FEMA inspector came to your home, but you never applied for assistance, you should let the inspector know you did not apply for assistance. If the inspector has left, call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 to tell them that you did not apply. FEMA will stop all further processing for the application.
If you use a relay service, such as your videophone, Innocaption or CapTel, please provide your specific number assigned to that service.
It is important that FEMA is able to contact you, and you should be aware of phone calls from FEMA may come from an unidentified number.
Operators can also assist you if you wish to create a new application to apply for FEMA assistance.
A fraudulent FEMA application could be a sign of identity theft. For information on responding to identity theft, visit Identity Theft | FTC Consumer Information and IdentityTheft.gov.
Do not contact the FEMA Fraud Investigations and Inspections Division, DHS Office of Inspector General, or the National Center for Disaster Fraud for the purpose of reporting identity theft.
