MACON, Ga. — With Helene recovery efforts underway, state officials are warning people to look out for scams and fraud.
Governor Kemp's State of Emergency for Helene includes a price gouging protection order for services related to response and recovery. It will remain in effect until Wednesday night.
Experts sources like the Better Business Bureau are also warning people about specific storm-related scams, including charitable giving scams, identity theft and rogue roofers.
Michael Kruger is the fifth generation of his family to work for the Macon-based roofing and siding company Schwartz & Son, a BBB-accredited business.
"We've heard too many horror stories about people coming in, making all these promises, taking payment upfront, and then disappearing," Kruger said. "You want to deal with somebody typically local. Somebody you can look up, who's been around, you know that they're bonded and insured. You know they're gonna do what they say they're gonna do."
Kruger says trucks start showing up around town that they've never seen before, driven by storm chasers.
"In our industry, there are what we call storm chasers that like to come around anytime there's a hail storm or tornado or a hurricane," Kruger said. "They come in from out of town and start knocking on doors...and they will tell you they're gonna handle everything with your insurance, there's just a lot of red flags you gotta look out for."
The Better Business Bureau has received reports of these storm chasers exploiting those most in need through things like home repair fraud.
"Every natural disaster that we've had in Georgia over the last 10 years, this has been the status quo," Vice President Jason Blankenship said. "There's help, and there's hurt after a tragedy like this. We want to help and make sure people don't get hurt."
Blankenship wants people to avoid crowd-funding sites for organizations they are not familiar with.
He also says to steer clear of door-to-door offers for home repairs and slow down. He says to make sure to read everything before signing any contracts.
"Do your homework, get 3 quotes, check them out with BBB, let's do some homework together so that you're gonna be really good after the storm and not suffering issues down the line," Blankenship said.
Blankenship says these scam reports are still coming in. He's advising people to stay alert for the next few weeks.
The Better Business Bureau has a full list of accredited charities and businesses to support on their website.
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