FEMA, TEMA warn of Sevier County fire scams
"In the wake of a disaster, it's common to see the generous side of human nature," said
A joint press release from TEMA and the
The release comes after other agencies such as the
Few, if any, scams have been documented thus far, although there have been numerous unofficial reports.
"I haven't heard of any official complaints, but we have heard stories of people in
A story was published on the
"I lived in Tuscaloosa in 2011 when they had the tornadoes hit," he said. "The area fell victim to a lot of scam artists -- a lot of contractors coming in who offered to do things before their insurance checks came in. A lot of people lost money to people like that. They either took money and never came back or did slipshod work. There was one guy who apparently makes a career of following disasters to do benefit concerts that never happen."
He said his wife was the motivation for the page and other relief work he has done.
"My wife is from
The page is not affiliated with any government agency. It is mainly a place where people can post usually unverified reports of potential scams.
One post mentioned panhandlers claiming to be victims of the fire and looking for money on street corners.
Wilkinson had his own post that reads: "We are also getting reports of bad contractors that are bogus moving into the area to take advantage of the influx of insurance and
Another states that some people who received items from the various distribution centers opened after the fires are trying to exchange them for money at various stores.
Wilkinson said he had also heard of people trying to collect
In the release Tuesday,
"
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