Preventing victims of flooding caused by Typhoon Halong from becoming the victims of fraud

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – About one week ago, many of our fellow Alaskans witnessed devastation at a level that many of us will never experience. Flooding caused by the remnants of Typhoon Halong hit our western coastline causing at least one known death, destroying residences, and leaving more than 1,500 victims with no place to stay, food to eat, or clean water to drink. While rescue operations have been ongoing at a feverish pace and likely saved many lives, Alaskans affected by this disaster are in a situation where they can see no hope for a return to their normal lives on the horizon. Sadly, it is at this precise time when fraudsters located across the globe seek to satisfy their own heartless greed by depriving victims of assistance that they may receive either through government channels and/or charitable contributions.

As a warning to fraudsters thinking of targeting our flood victims, such people should know that Title 18 United States Code, Section 1040, punishes those who commit fraud in connection with major disaster and emergency benefits with up to 30 years in federal prison and that we will aggressively investigate and prosecute such criminal conduct.

The National Center for Disaster Fraud (“NCDF”), a national coordinating agency, was created by a partnership between the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and various law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Its goal is to improve and further the detection, prevention, investigation, and prosecution of fraud related to natural and man-made disasters, and to advocate for the victims of such fraud.

Experience has shown that criminals exploit disasters for their own selfish gain by sending fraudulent communications through email or social media and by creating deceiving websites designed to solicit contributions. These fraudsters will engage in phishing, which involves deceiving individuals to provide their personal identifiers, credit card numbers, and bank account information. They will also engage in spoofing, which involves disguising their own phone numbers and websites to appear as being from known and trusted entities such as federal relief agencies and non-profit organizations to fraudulently obtain funds.

I unfortunately expect that criminals will target flood victims and individuals wanting to make charitable contributions to those victims. The following examples of disaster-related fraud are based on over 300,000 complaints submitted to the NCDF, and are provided to help victims avoid being victimized twice -- by the storm and then by criminals:

• Fake charities immediately soliciting donations using the names of well-known charities or appearing reasonable as related to a disaster (to include email, website, and caller ID spoofing)
• Individuals impersonating government officials, non-profit organization representatives, and insurance company representatives advising that disaster assistance will be made available should the potential victim provide a sum of money or personal identifiers such as date of birth, social security number, and bank account information (name of financial institution, routing number, and account number)
• Individuals soliciting victims to invest in non-existent businesses and ventures offering recovery efforts such as cleanup, rebuilding, and making structures (homes) more resistant to future disasters, for example, elevating structures to minimize future flood risks)
• Individuals overcharging for goods and services needed by victims of disaster, also known as price-gouging
• Theft of property from businesses and residences abandoned because of a disaster (either evacuation pre-disaster or to obtain living accommodations because of damaged apartments and homes)

Recommended Measures to Avoid Becoming a Victim:

• Only make donations to known charities and only after contacting the charity directly and not in response to an email, instant message, phone call, text, etc. A recommended step is to research the charity by visiting recognized charity information/rating websites such as the www.Give.org, CharityNavigator.org, and CharityWatch.org
• Never click on a link in an unsolicited email, instant message, text, etc.
• Never assume that charity solicitations posted on the internet and social media are legitimate
• Avoid cash donations to charities - use a credit card or pay with a check. Never transmit donations to a named individual
• Charities do not seek donations via electronic fund (financial institution)/wire transfers, so do not wire donations
• Avoid being victimized by impersonators of government officials, insurance companies, investment companies, etc., by terminating the phone call or other exchange of information (e.g., email, texts) and calling the actual government agency, insurance company, and/or investment company directly using a well-advertised phone number or email address

Individuals who have been targeted by fraudsters, been the victim of disaster-related fraud, or suspect that someone is engaging in disaster fraud are encouraged to contact law enforcement at any of the following: (1) the NCDF at (866) 720-572 or online at www.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm; or  (2) the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI; tips.fbi.gov; or  ic3.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) for internet-based fraud.

Michael J. Heyman

United States Attorney

District of Alaska