November 21, 2025
Preparedness Reminder:
Residents in hurricane-prone areas should treat this
as a risk management reminder:
Review and update your hurricane preparedness plans.
Ensure emergency supplies, evacuation routes, and
communication plans are ready.
Stay tuned to official updates from the National
Hurricane Center (NHC) and local emergency
management agency.
Scammers are impersonating attorneys and law firms,
offering immigration services on social media. The
posts on Facebook and other platforms might be in
English or your preferred language. If you press like
or leave a comment, they値l contact you and guarantee
you値l get a work permit, green card, or citizenship ?
but it痴 a scam. How
do you spot and avoid the scammers?
July 18, 2023 --Joining
forces to help stop scam calls
Today, the FTC and its federal and state law enforcement
partners announced Operation Stop Scam Calls, the latest
joint effort in the fight against illegal robocalls.
Today痴 announcement outlines the enforcement actions to
stop multiple dishonest telemarketers, the companies that
hire them, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service
providers that supply the technology for telemarketers to
make millions of scam robocalls. Learn more at FTC.gov/calls
You should never wire money or send money using
platforms to: the
Anyone claiming your account is
compromised
Anyone asking you to send money to
yourself
Anyone who claims to be from a
government agency
Any stranger, no matter what reason
they give
A telemarketer trying to sell you
something
Unauthorized, unverified cryptocurrency
sites or salespeople
November 3, 2022 - State's Flood Risk Disclosure Practices
Several states have mandated multiple flood risk
disclosures as part of their laws and/or disclosure forms.
As illustrated in dark blue five states (Louisiana, Texas,
South Carolina, Mississippi, and Delaware) have the most
flood risk disclosure requirements. According to FEMA,
fifteen States, including Florida, do not have any state
mandated flood disclosure requirement.
Hurricane Fiona: Make your donations count
By Cristina Miranda
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
September 23, 2022
Hurricane Fiona hit the southern part of Puerto Rico hard
leaving the island in the dark, flooded, and without
running water. And once again, islanders are coping and
cleaning up. As with any severe weather disaster, you may
be considering a charitable donation to help the people
and communities in Puerto Rico that were affected. A bit
of research and planning before you donate will ensure
that your money goes to organizations that are helping
Puerto Rico recover from this disaster and not scammers.
Here痴 advice on donating wisely and avoiding charity
scams:
Donate to charities you know and trust with a proven track
record with dealing with disasters.
If you get a request to donate on social media, research
the organization yourself before you give. Don稚 assume
that charity messages posted on social media are
legitimate. Check out the charity on the Better Business
Bureau's (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator,
Charity Watch, or Candid. If the message was from a
friend, ask them if they know the organization themselves.
Be cautious about giving to individuals on crowdfunding
sites. If considering crowdfunding, it痴 safest to give to
someone you personally know and trust, and to review the
platform痴 policies and procedures. Keep in mind that
while some crowdfunding sites take measures to vet
postings for help after a disaster, others don稚.
If someone wants donations in cash, by gift card, by
wiring money or cryptocurrency, don稚 do it. Pay by credit
card, which offers more protections.
When texting to donate, confirm the number with the source
before you donate. The charge will show up on your mobile
phone bill, but donations are not immediate.
You can find this information and more at ftc.gov/charity.
Looking for information to help prepare for, deal with,
and recover from a natural disaster or severe weather
event? Visit ftc.gov/weatheremergencies.
August 21, 2022 ---Digital money movement fraud on the
rise. A scammer can contact you requesting payment through
a Wire Transfer --these methods allow money to be sent
quickly, and the funds are often hard to trace and
recover.
You should never wire money or send money to:
* Anyone who claims to be from a
government agency
* Any stranger, no matter what reason
they give
* A telemarketer trying to sell you
something
* Anyone claiming your account is
compromised
* Unauthorized, unverified
cryptocurrency sites or salespeople
* Anyone asking you to send money to
yourself
August14, 2022
--FTC.
FTC lawsuit reminds businesses:
CAN-SPAM means CAN探 spam
Can't "unsubscribe" from unwanted email? Tell
the FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
To join the National Do Not Call Registry, go to
www.donotcall.gov or call 1 (888) 382-1222.
I feel more comfortable with my
ignorance than their certainty
FEMA has
tools to help people. It also has a poor history
of maintaining link addresses, which is why we don't
have many links to FEMA's site. Let us know is
these links stop working. Disaster
Recovery
Center (DRC) Locator -- FEMA App. Download
it for free from the App
Store or GooglePlay.--
If
you are located in the area of a declared Major Disaster
you can register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov
or by calling 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. If you
use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.
Operators are multilingual and calls are answered seven
days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CDT.
Ready Rating: A FREE
Service from the American Red Cross
The Red Cross,
Salvation Army and other volunteer organizations move
resources into position so as to be able to respond to
disasters. Please consider a donation to the Red Cross
You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a 10ドル
donation or call 1-800 RED CROSS
There are several ways you can donate to the Salvation
Army . By phone: Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY By
text: Text 敵IVE? to 80888. Also, consider
volunteering or donating with Disaster
Relief Agencies and Nongovernment Organizations.
Red Cross --
After a disaster, letting your family and friends know
that you are safe and well can bring your loved ones
great peace of mind. This
website
is
designed to help make that communication easier.
If you want to suggest a link, please post to
host@disastercenter.com
The people affected will not lack clothing for long and
more will be donated than will ever be used. It will
end up in the local landfill, because there is no place to
store it. If you are going to collect clothing have
a garage sale with the proceeds going to the
victims. Be responsible, if you collect money get
proof that it was donated and make evidence available to
those who gave. Consider volunteering or donating
with Disaster
Relief
Agencies and Nongovernment Organizations. WHO's CRED is reporting that in 2010 a total of 385
natural disasters killed more than 297,000 people
worldwide, affected over 217.0 million others and caused
US$ 123.9 billion of economic damages. Annual
Disaster
Statistical
Review 2010: (PDF 4.2 MB) The Numbers and Trends.
Brussels: CRED; 2011-Guha-Sapir D, Vos F, Below R,
with Ponserre S.
There is only one weather authority in the United States,
and that's the National Weather Service For
emergency information consult with your local NWS office
or your local emergency management agency. If you
want to suggest a link, please post to host@disastercenter.com
SaferProducts.gov:
A New World for Consumers, Businesses, and Researchers
-- This is a site that the US Chamber of Commerce wants
the government to shut down. Take a Look...
How to get a free credit report:
Online: www.annualcreditreport.com
Call toll free: (877) 322-8228
Write: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box
105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281
The Disaster Center
hosts a Talking
About
Disaster:
Guide for Standard Messages
The CDC has recently come out with its Social Media:
Preparedness 101: Zombie
Apocalypse Guide and announced a forthcoming
video contest. The idea that all these efforts
are concerned with is that you and your family be
prepared for disasters. In our estimation the
most important disaster readiness tool is a common
contact person outside of the disaster area.
Someone who, if conditions are so bad that
household members can't go home, that you might move
in with. After disasters most people do not stay
in shelters. They are sheltered by relatives and
friends. So what we are saying is that the greatest
tool after a disaster is a friend; get one; be one.
The Red Cross has created a teaching guide -- Children
in
disasters-
Games and guidelines to engage youth
in risk reduction
A
study released by researchers at Iowa State
University calculated costs of five major crimes, and
found that each murder generated societal costs of
17ドル.25 million
The National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) has
replaced the color codes of the Homeland
Security
Advisory
System (HSAS). The new alert system is currently
active, active alerts are also available on Twitter and Facebook
Established 14 years ago, the Disaster Center site
has gone through a number of evolutions. A big part
of this work has provided coverage for disasters
affecting the United States. Big stories were
Hurricane Dennis,
Rita,
Katrina,
Wilma,Floyd,
Mitch,
Bret
and many others. One of the most linked to areas on
the web site has been our graphics. The most popular of
these Hurricane
Floyd as it approached the US coast. Current
and
Historic
Atlantic Tropical Storms and Hurricanes
Our work of mitigating disasters involves
the preparation for them, responding to them, and
recovering from them. In an ideal world we would be
working on ways to mitigate
risk
Here痴 the distinction
I壇 keep front and center:
Reality (territory): what happens. You touch it through
closures and replayable counts.
Math (map): a compact way to predict parts of that
reality. Useful, but never the thing itself.
Box tricks: controlled set-ups to learn something
without confusing the set-up for the world.
A tiny manifesto you can pin to keep honest:
Sovereignty of facts: Base closures rule. Models advise;
they don稚 overrule.
Map ≠ Territory: Every abstract claim must point to its
test path and TTL熔r it expires.
Plain → Formal → Check: Say it plainly, formalize it
briefly, verify it against facts.
Safety Stack always on: Unclear? High burden? Abstain.
Redesign the room.
Explain like a neighbor: If we can稚 say it in human
language, we don稚 pretend we know it.
Physics doesn稚 require denying reality; it works best
when it respects it.
The three
companies (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian) have created a
central Web site where you can order your credit report (www.annualcreditreport.com). You also can order it by calling (877) 322-8228. You do not have to pay to receive the
report, nor do you have to pay for any service or product as a
condition of receipt. The National
Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to
receive telemarketing calls at home. If they do, you can
file a complaint at https://www.donotcall.gov.
You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Your
registration will be effective for five years.
Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim
of cyber fraud:
Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited
e-mail.
Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in
attached files; the files may contain viruses. Only open
attachments from known senders. Scan the attachments for
viruses if possible.
Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages
that ask for personal information.
Always compare the link in the e-mail with the link to
which you are directed to determine if they match and will
lead you to a legitimate site.
Log directly onto a store痴 website identified in the
e-mail instead of linking to it from an unsolicited e-mail. If
the e-mail appears to be from your bank, credit card issuer,
or other company you deal with frequently, your statements or
official correspondence will provide the proper contact
information.
Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the
e-mail to verify if the e-mail is genuine.
If you are asked to act quickly, it may be a scam.
Fraudsters often create a false sense of urgency.
Verify any requests for personal information by calling
the business or financial institution using the phone numbers
listed on a billing statement or credit card.
If you have received a suspicious e-mail, file a complaint with
the Internet Crime Complaint Center: www.ic3.gov.
