PERRY, FL (352today.com) – Disasters bring out the best and worst in people.

“Following a natural disaster, scam artists will work overtime to defraud individuals in their time of need,” said Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal.

Patronis joined Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference in Perry on Monday, Sept. 5 to discuss restoration efforts and caution hurricane victims that they will become targets of unscrupulous people. Following hurricanes, people show up offering to do repair work.

Patronis said scam artists will work overtime to defraud individuals in their time of need. “You don’t need to sign anything,” said Patronis. “Anybody that approaches you at your doorstep asking you to sign anything, you need to err on the side of caution and tell them ‘no.'” He said by signing something, you may be obligating yourself to services.”

Instead, Patronis said the first thing you need to do is contact your insurance agent to get the process started by making an appointment to have an insurance adjuster come to your property.

If you have any questions or concerns, Patronis urged storm victims to call the state’s insurance helpline at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236). Agents are available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Find other hurricane resources here.

Following Idalia, Patronis said he activated and deployed the Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team (DFAST) to protect Florida residents and businesses from fraud. The DFAST deployment consists of three teams comprised of 23 personnel, including insurance fraud and workers’ compensation fraud detectives. The teams are positioned in the 16 counties most impacted by Hurricane Idalia, including Taylor, Dixie, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Hillsborough, Pasco, Citrus, Levy, Pinellas, Marion, Hernando, Columbia, Union, Bradford, and Alachua counties.

Patronis said these teams consist of trained insurance fraud detectives who are on the lookout for bad actors trying to make a buck off of the damage caused by this storm.

Indicators of Storm-Related Fraud:
1. A contractor or restoration professional who offered to waive or discount your insurance deductible.
2. A contractor or restoration professional who has received payment and has failed to provide any repairs to your home.
3. A contractor or restoration professional who offered to provide repairs at a cash-only discounted rate and has failed to provide repairs to your home.
4. A contractor or restoration professional who pressured you to sign an AOB and has failed to provide any repairs to your home or stopped responding to your contact attempts.

If you or a loved one believes you have fallen victim to a scam, report it immediately at Fraud Free Florida.

Patronis said the anti-fraud teams also work to educate and inform the public on laws related to the Assignment of Benefits (AOB) process. To protect policyholders, new laws eliminated the use of AOBs for certain property insurance contracts in Florida.

“We make sure that the insurance companies pay you every nickel that you deserve, and you don’t have to hire anybody to do it,” said Patronis.