Disaster Assistance Scams: Education and Awareness Are Key to Consumer Protection

What GAO Found

Scams are a method of committing fraud that involves the use of deception or manipulation intended to achieve financial gain. Scams generally succeed by manipulating and deceiving victims and often play on their emotions to exploit vulnerabilities. Disaster assistance scams are a type of scam that seeks to take advantage of either disaster survivors or people trying to aid disaster survivors.

Examples of Disaster Assistance Scams

The prevalence of disaster assistance scams is unknown, due in part to underreporting, but recent surveys-including one by the U.S. Census Bureau-suggest that many individuals encounter scams during disaster recovery. Federal agencies collect complaint data that include allegations of these types of scams. While agencies review complaints to identify where further action, such as investigation, might be appropriate, data limitations prevent accurate estimates on how often these scams occur and how much money is lost.

Federal agencies use consumer education to raise awareness and help prevent individuals from becoming victims of disaster assistance scams. Factors hindering enforcement actions against scammers include underreporting of scams. Many disaster assistance scams go unreported to the federal agencies that receive and process complaints. These agencies include disaster response agencies-such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Small Business Administration, and Department of Housing and Urban Development-and other agencies, such as the National Center for Disaster Fraud. Disaster assistance scams can go unreported for various reasons, including shame, embarrassment, the belief that reporting will not help, and a lack of awareness about how to report the crime. For those complaints that are reported, there are challenges in prosecuting the disaster assistance scams, such as time and resource constraints, case prioritization, and the sophistication of some international scam operations.

Why GAO Did This Study

Scams related to disaster assistance pose financial and nonfinancial risks to disaster survivors, communities, and federal programs. Scams have been around for many years, have evolved with technology, and are a growing risk to consumers in the United States and around the world. Disaster assistance scams typically target vulnerable individuals and communities affected by a disaster by preying on desperation and fear, as well as exploiting vulnerabilities which may be heightened following a disaster. Disaster assistance scams can further compound losses incurred from disasters themselves. Each year, disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and wildfires affect hundreds of American communities and millions of people. The resulting federal disaster response-billions of dollars distributed quickly-also attracts scammers. It is likely that as natural disasters increase in frequency, so too will scams related to disaster assistance.

GAO performed this work under the American Relief Act, 2025, which included a provision for GAO for audits and investigations related to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other disasters declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in calendar years 2023 and 2024. This report provides information about disaster assistance scams and efforts to mitigate them.

For more information, contact Rebecca Shea at [email protected].