Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is warning Panhandle residents to watch for price gouging and repair scams as they recover from Hurricane Isaias.
“This happens to be the time when some scammers come into play — people that want to take advantage of this situation,” Uthmeier said at a news conference on Saturday morning.
He said his office had already received reports and was working to resolve them.
The state activated its price-gouging reporting process before the storm, after Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 25 Florida counties. Uthmeier said residents can report suspected price gouging to his office at myfloridalegal.com. The state’s toll-free reporting hotline is 1-866-9NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226).
Florida law prohibits unconscionable increases in the price of essential commodities during a declared state of emergency when the goods or services are needed because of the emergency.
Those can include food, water, ice, gasoline, lodging and lumber, as well as services such as tree removal, water remediation and roof repair. What qualifies can vary with the length and nature of the emergency.
Uthmeier also cautioned residents about contractors, including people coming from out of state, who offer roof or other repairs after a storm. Some may be unlicensed or unqualified, he said, urging residents to check that anyone they hire is licensed to work in Florida.
His office has received reports of text messages offering tree service “in coordination with your insurance company,” Uthmeier said. He said the messages appear to be scams and urged residents not to respond.
“If you see somebody that looks like a scammer, please go to myfloridalegal.com, report it, and we will shut it down,” he said.
Uthmeier said state and local law enforcement were coordinating to protect public safety.
Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday night near Destin, Florida, as a dangerous storm, leaving flooded roads and downed trees in its wake.
The storm made landfall around 9:30 p.m. EDT Friday as a Category 2 hurricane, with reported gusts up to 116 mph near Santa Rosa Sound and over 100 mph near Pensacola. Water levels in Panama City Beach were about 5.5 feet above normal.
Isaias quickly moved north through Alabama as its wind speeds dropped sharply, but it left hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle without power.
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