While millions of Americans throughout the southeast are busy dealing with the aftermath of hurricane Helene this week, most don’t realize that a different type of storm is heading directly for them and it could cause even more financial damage than the hurricane already has.

The coming storm we all need to look out for is the flood of financial scams that typically swamp an area immediately following a natural disaster.

The people these scammers prey on are facing massive uncertainty because their lives have been flipped completely upside down, so they’re more susceptible to getting swindled. With their homes damaged or destroyed, water, food, and basic necessities in short supply, and a host of other challenges with no end in sight, it’s easy to see how people get sucked into these scams.

So in this article, I want to show you how to protect your finances and credit in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

That being said, before we break down some of the scams to be on the lookout for, we first need to take some proactive steps to fortify our credit profile. This provides an added level of security, but it’s critical to remember that nothing provides absolute protection.

The first thing you need to do is lock your credit profile.

Truth be told, this is something you should have in place anyway, but most people don’t.

The good news is that it’s fast, easy, and free to set this up. All you need to do is go to each credit bureau, create an account if you don’t already  have one, and request a credit freeze online. Or, if you have an account with a credit monitoring service, you may be able to freeze all three from that platform.

This prevents any new credit from being opened in your name until you unlock it again. 

So go do that before you read any further.

Identity theft

Identity theft is increasingly common in situations like we’re seeing in the aftermath of hurricane Helene. That’s because it’s easier to get away with it for longer when the victims are focused on survival. Fortunately, the solution to this is locking your credit profile, which I assume you've done by now, right?

And if you haven’t done so already, I recommend signing up for credit monitoring as well. This will alert you anytime your personal information is found on the internet.

Rental scams

The housing market here in Florida has been insanely competitive for several years because of our housing shortage, but the hurricane made that exponentially worse. Now we have millions of displaced Americans throughout the hurricane path on top of the people who were already looking for a place to live.

A common tactic here is to offer a property for rent—often at a discount, collect as many deposits as they can, and then disappear. And in many cases, the “landlord” may not even own the property they’re showing.

Avoiding this requires you to conduct some due diligence to ensure the person you’re talking to is a legitimate representative for that property, whether an owner or a property management company.

This may mean calling around or performing property record searches online, but keep in mind that this can often be difficult with power and internet outages. Add in the fact that people will often snap rentals up sight unseen because they’re in short supply, and it’s easy to see how time pressure can be used against you.

Credit scams

People will also come out of the woodwork to offer you credit because they have an essentially captive demographic of people who need financial help.

Some have legitimate and fair offers, while others are simply looking for easy targets.

It’s easy to grasp at any straws you can find during a catastrophic event, which makes it easy to commit to unfair terms just to survive.

Financial literacy is key here. When you understand financial terms and legal contracts, you’ll have a far greater chance of spotting and avoiding these scams. And often, your local community will even offer financial experts to assist residents in evaluating these offers. If that’s available in your area, you should absolutely take advantage of it. A second set of eyes never hurt anyone.

Contractor scams

When it comes to contractors, especially here in Florida, and even more so following a natural disaster, the caveat buyer beware applies.

The problem is compounded by the fact that out-of-state contractors typically swarm to the area as soon as they can get their trucks through the debris.

Some may be great, but many may not, and if they do a shoddy job and disappear, you’ll have very little recourse. Plus, if they put a contractor’s lien in place, as most do, and things go south, you could end up in a lengthy and expensive lawsuit or even losing your home. They may also offer financing, which could fall under the previous section on credit scams.

I recommend working only with local contractors, and checking their license with the appropriate state agency, as well as digging through the first few pages of the search results to look for any complaints that demonstrate a history of unsatisfied clients.

Closing thoughts…

It’s worth noting that under the DeSantis administration, Florida has enacted some pretty robust laws to protect citizens from unlicensed contractors—especially during natural disasters.

This administration has also put numerous other laws in place to protect its residents during a disaster as well, but it’s important to remember that no one thing will protect you completely.

That’s why it’s prudent to take a multifaceted approach to protecting yourself financially.

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Amanda Webster is the COO of Fund&Grow, which helps entrepreneurs get the business credit they need to run and scale their companies. She is recognized as one of the leading experts in the industry, and is regularly asked to speak on the topic on stage and in the media.