A white laptop surrounded by small pumpkins with skeleton hands resting on the keyboard.
The scams that will haunt you this spooky season are no fun on a normal day, but throw in a natural disaster or two, and you’ve got a recipe for some truly devious scamming. The good thing is though, with some helpful tips and tricks in this post, hopefully you can spot the scammer, before they get to you.
Key Takeaways
- Recovery scams are common following any natural disaster where scammers try to cash in on the storm.
- Fake news & misinformation is everywhere, especially during election season.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) deepfake videos and scam calls can mimic voices/faces, and you’ll need safeguards in place to catch a scammer.
How to spot recovery disaster & imposter scams
Scammers often pretend to be an “official” such as safety inspectors or government personnel. If the “official” asks you for money or personal information right way, it’s a scammer. Don’t give them money, and ask for identification to verify who they are.
Another common impersonator scam, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) charging application fees. There is no fee for you to qualify for FEMA funds, it’s a scam. You can download the FEMA Mobile app to get alerts and information on how to apply for aid.
Home improvement and debris removal scams are incredibly common post disaster. Unlicensed contractors often appear in recovery zone and promise quick repair or clean-up disaster assistance services. If someone demands cash payments up front, or refuse to give you copies of license, insurance and a contract, don’t hire them, it’s likely a scam.
Misinformation around FEMA and disaster aid relief can have a real impact on the lives of those affected by hurricanes and natural disasters. Remember to verify the images, news links, and the people posting photos and crowdfunding links. Share information from trusted sources, mutual aid groups, government websites and links you can verify.
Fake News & Misinformation
Scammers, nation states, hacktivist groups, cyber criminals all have a stake in disrupting election cycles. Bad actors want to win hearts, minds, and money through propaganda, deep fakes, and an overwhelming volume of misleading text and photographs.
There are so many things ripe for exploitation during an election year. Be on the lookout for fake fundraising emails, and double check the links to ensure they are going to legitimate fundraising sites, such as Act Blue. If you are not sure whether the email or text message is legitimate, go to the website directly, rather than using the email or text message donation link.
Watch out for deep fake videos & ads of political candidates before you repost something, donate through their attached links or respond to the content. Do a search to find out if there are news stories on reliable news sites, about AI deep fakes related to the story you read, or video you saw attached to a post.
Scammers intentionally use emotional social media posts and images or rage bait, images and words intended to get a reaction and entice more engagement. Often images could be AI generated, or altered to push a more extreme emotional connection to the viewer. The goal is to gain sympathy or responses to their content.
Verifying information before responding or reposting can help diminish the spread of misinformation. Use tools such as a reverse image search, and credible news and search sources to ensure you’re not increasing the spread of misinformation. Understand there are clickbait ads and videos, intending to get an emotional reaction from you. Sit with your feelings before responding, wait a few days, or keep scrolling.
Artificial Intelligence Scam Calls
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are getting better, easier and cheaper for scammers to create fake, and convincing audio and video tools. One-way scammers are exploiting people is using AI voice & video clones trained on existing voice/audio/video clips of people. The scammers can adjust the voice and imitate almost anyone. Some models of AI voice can speak multiple languages and have text-to-speech features.
What does this mean for you? Since AI voice is harder to detect, here are some steps you can take if you think you’re being scammed, or are not sure the person you’re talking to is actually our family member, friend, boss or someone else you know.
Hang up and call them back. Scammers can and do spoof numbers. They can make it appear they are calling from a legitimate phone number.
Additionally, create safe words or code phrases that only you and your loved ones know and can ask one another over the phone, if you are under duress. You might also have a code word or phrase with a work colleague, especially if you’re a high profile target in the company or a public figure.
Other ways you can spot a phone scammer, ask them a personal question or two that only someone who knows you well could answer. Make sure the question is specific enough the scammer won’t easily guess the answer.
Finally, remember that AI voice clones can mimic anyone, even you. If your family member of friend gets a frantic call from you, thinks you’re being kidnapped or harmed, they might be willing to do anything to help you. Setting up safeguards and understanding the risks can help you have a plan in place in case you get a scam call from a scammer posing as a loved one.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of spooky scams that happen year-round but during any election cycle or any natural disaster, there’s a particular kind of scammer who preys on people going through it. Please take care of yourself and remember scammers are adept human hackers and have a very good understanding of human behaviors. Anyone can be targeted by a scammer, even if you’re smart, capable, and think you’ve seen it all.
If you are scammed, please take care of yourself, and remember there’s no shame in it, scammers are incredibly good at what they do. If you need help more help, book a strategy call with us.
The guidance included in this article does not constitute legal advice and is for educational purposes only.
Sources: FEMA, FTC, Wired