Fraudulent claims slowing FEMA down

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - FEMA has its hands full of people who need all the help they can get. But there are also reports of fake claims using someone’s information without them knowing.

Some of those people finding claims on their FEMA accounts didn’t have any damage from Hurricane Ida at all. What we’re learning tonight, is that some of you watching at home could also be at risk of having your information stolen.

“So, we had some damage, but it wasn’t anything that I was going to claim with FEMA,” said Cindy Murphy who was recently a victim of fraud.

She filed a claim with FEMA back in May when her house flooded along with the rest of her neighborhood. But the other day when she went to check her account, something caught her eye.

“I noticed there was a claim for Hurricane Ida which I had not made. So, when I clicked and investigated a little bit more, I noticed that someone had used my husband’s name but a different email address and also a different phone number,” Murphy explained.

She sent a message warning her neighborhood friends in their group text. One of them noticed the same thing. And then another, and another, and another.

“Luckily, ours have all been flagged now but I’m just wondering how many other people that are out there are having claims against their name that haven’t actually filed them,” Murphy continued.

To get her situation under control Cindy immediately contacted the FEMA hotline.

“And I was afraid because of all the people that are filing for FEMA right now that have legitimate claims that it would take a while to get through, but they were quick to respond,” Murphy assured us.

FEMA’s Media Relations Specialist Nate Custer says these are the kind of issues that slow the recovery process down for everyone.

“It’s going to slow down the phone lines opening up for other people who are trying to get through. The phone lines open 24 hours a day has been very busy, hundreds of thousands of people have been calling into FEMA,” Custer explained.

He says after you have made a claim to be extra cautious of any additional phone calls or emails from people claiming to be from FEMA that ask for your social security or bank account numbers.

And to be extra careful with the 9-digit pin number that FEMA gives you after you’ve made your claim.

“Because if someone gets a hold of that 9-digit number that’s going to be a very difficult situation for the person who legitimately filed that claim,” said Custer.

If you or anyone else, you know is a victim of this kind of fraud, you or they should call the FEMA hotline as soon as possible at (866)-720-5721.

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