Scam callers pretending to be FEMA or contractors

Your phone starts lighting up the afternoon the water drops. ‘FEMA inspector.’ ‘Your claim is flagged.’ ‘We are on your street with a pump, we just need a card to hold the slot.’

Hang up. Real federal help does not hunt your debit PIN. Real contractors do not win the job from a withheld caller ID.

Houston has seen this after every named flood. You are not the first target on the block.

Do this now

1. Do not give a Social Security number, bank PIN, or gift-card codes to anyone who called you.
2. Look up FEMA only at FEMA.gov or DisasterAssistance.gov, or call 1-800-621-3362.
3. Ask any contractor for a Texas license, a physical local address, and a written estimate you can keep.
4. Report the scam attempt to 311 in the city or the county consumer path, and tell your carrier if they used your claim number.

The FEMA costume

FEMA does not charge a fee to register. FEMA does not send you to a Bitcoin ATM. FEMA inspectors do not ask you to pay them in cash at the curb.

If someone cites your exact address and a fake registration number, that means they scraped public data or a leak, not that they are official.

Start your own registration on DisasterAssistance.gov if a declaration exists. If it does not, a stranger cannot ‘expedite’ one.

The contractor costume

Door knockers with out-of-state plates and a same-day ‘we only need 50 percent cash’ speech are a Houston storm classic. Ask them to leave literature and go away. Then you call a company you chose.

They may already know your insurer. That is not magic. It is a guess plus a logo on a polo.

If they already climbed on your roof, tell them to get down and leave. Call 911 if they will not.

Do this next

1. 911 vs non-emergency vs 311 after a Houston flood
2. Coast Guard / swift-water rescue: when to dial
3. Shelters & evacuation hub

More in Who to call right now.