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Never pay money to apply for, inspect, or receive federal disaster assistance. FEMA and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) staff do not charge applicants for disaster assistance, inspections, or help completing applications. An unsolicited caller, text, email, website, inspector, or contractor who demands a fee, deposit, personal data, or an irreversible payment should be treated as suspicious until you verify the contact independently.
Use a known government address or official agency app, type the address yourself, and call a published agency number. Do not trust a link, logo, caller ID, badge, or page that merely looks like a .gov site.
What legitimate federal disaster assistance looks like
Agencies do not charge application or inspection fees
FEMA’s rule is unambiguous: “FEMA doesn’t charge people for disaster assistance.” FEMA and SBA personnel also do not charge for inspections or for help filling out an application. FEMA published that warning on January 9, 2024, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) repeated it in its July 2025 alert about FEMA impersonators: Spot and avoid FEMA impersonators. A request for an application fee, processing charge, inspection payment, “release” fee, deposit, or advance payment to qualify is therefore a strong fraud signal.
Contact normally follows a resident’s request
FEMA says unexpected texts demanding money or personal information are not legitimate. The agency contacts people who have contacted or applied to it. An unsolicited approach is not automatically fraudulent, but it requires independent verification before you share information or take any action. A person who claims to be an inspector, caseworker, utility employee, safety official, or federal contractor must still be verified through an official channel.
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Legitimate help uses documented channels
Apply through an official .gov site or an official agency app, and use phone numbers published on that site or on an agency document you already possess. Legitimate staff can explain which program they represent and what information is needed, but they will not force you to pay through a personal account or an irreversible payment method.
Warning signs of a fake relief portal or message
Impersonation that cannot be independently confirmed
Scammers may call, text, email, visit your door, or send a person wearing FEMA-branded clothing. FEMA says federal employees carry an official badge with a name and photograph, but a badge or logo is not proof by itself because criminals can make convincing fakes. Do not let a caller’s confidence, a familiar-looking uniform, or a local area-code number substitute for a callback to a published agency number.
A cloned .gov-looking website
A fraudulent page can copy an agency seal, colors, wording, and even a web address that appears official. The IRS warns that criminals send fake letters directing people to a site that imitates IRS.gov, including a nonexistent “Digital Asset Compliance Portal.” The IRS’s tax-scam guidance advises people not to click QR codes or links in unexpected messages; instead, navigate to the agency’s site yourself: IRS tax scams. Apply the same rule to disaster aid. A page reached through an unsolicited link is untrusted until you independently type the known address and find the same service there.
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An unsolicited demand for your Social Security number, bank-account number, credit-card number, online-banking login, or other financial information is a warning sign. The FTC explains that legitimate agencies do not ask for payment or sensitive details through unexpected contacts in its guidance on recovery scams: Refund and recovery scams. Information may be required inside a verified application, but you should not provide it to a caller, text link, email attachment, or pop-up simply because the sender claims to represent FEMA or another agency.
Urgency, threats, or promises of guaranteed money
Fraudsters create deadlines such as “pay within the hour,” threaten to cancel your application, or promise a guaranteed grant if you act immediately. Pressure is designed to prevent you from checking the claim. A genuine program may have an application deadline, but staff should not demand an instant payment or punish you for taking time to verify identity and instructions.
Irreversible payment methods
Wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrency, payment apps, and cash are favored by scammers because recovering the money is difficult. A joint warning from the Department of Justice, FTC, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau states: “You are not required to pay a fee to get disaster relief.” The warning was issued October 9, 2024, and updated February 6, 2025: joint disaster-relief fraud warning. The FTC’s recovery-scam guidance puts the rule plainly: “No matter how someone unexpectedly contacts you — by mail, online, telephone, social media, or text message — don’t pay upfront.”
Contractors who exploit the relief process
Disaster fraud is not limited to federal applications. The FTC advises avoiding anyone who refuses to show licenses or insurance, will not provide a written contract, demands full payment up front, gives you a blank contract to sign, or asks you to sign over an insurance check: How to avoid scams after weather emergencies and natural disasters. These practices can turn legitimate repair work into a second financial loss even when your aid application itself is genuine.
Legitimate help versus a scam
Use these comparisons before responding to a contact or submitting information. One warning sign may justify a pause; several together should end the interaction.
| Check | Legitimate assistance | Likely scam behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation | You contacted the agency or started an application, then received a contact you can verify. | An unexpected person initiates contact and insists you act immediately. |
| Cost | No application, inspection, or help-completing fee. | A deposit, processing charge, advance payment, or fee to release a grant. |
| Identity proof | Clear program information, an official badge when applicable, and an independently verified callback number. | Only a badge, caller ID, logo, uniform, or copied .gov appearance, with no independent verification. |
| Data request | Information entered into a known official portal after you navigate there yourself. | Social Security, bank, card, or login details requested through an unsolicited call, text, email, or link. |
| Payment method | No payment for federal relief; any legitimate transaction is documented and traceable. | Gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, cash, or payment-app transfer. |
| Documentation | Written program instructions, licenses, insurance, and a complete repair contract where relevant. | Blank contracts, refusal to show credentials, verbal-only promises, or pressure to sign over an insurance check. |
How to verify a relief website, call, or text safely
- Stop the interaction. Do not click the link, scan a QR code, open an attachment, call the number in the message, or continue chatting with the sender.
- Start from a known source. Type the agency’s .gov address into your browser or open its official app. Do not copy the address from the suspicious message. Check that the service you need is available from the page you reached independently.
- Find the published phone number. Use the number on the independently reached agency site or an official document you already trust. Tell the representative that someone contacted you and ask whether the contact and request are genuine.
- Verify the person, not just the branding. Ask for the worker’s name, office, and program. A badge, caller ID, email signature, or familiar logo can be forged, so confirm the details through the agency’s published channel.
- Check the request against the fee rule. FEMA and SBA do not charge for disaster assistance, inspections, or application help. End the conversation if payment is presented as a condition of eligibility or faster processing.
- Protect your information. Do not send Social Security, bank, card, password, or one-time-code information to an unsolicited contact. Enter required data only after you independently opened the verified application.
- Keep records. Save the message, phone number, email address, web address, payment instructions, receipts, and screenshots. Do not reply merely to gather more evidence; preserving what you already received is safer.
What to do if you already paid or shared information
If money was sent
Contact the bank, card issuer, wire service, payment-app provider, or cryptocurrency exchange immediately. Explain that the transaction was fraud and ask whether it can be reversed, recalled, or frozen. The faster you report it, the more options the provider may have, although recovery is not guaranteed. Do not send an additional “recovery fee” to anyone promising to get the first payment back; that is a common follow-up scam.
If credentials or identity data were disclosed
Change compromised passwords from a clean device, beginning with email and financial accounts, and do not reuse the old password. Contact the relevant financial institution, tell it what information was exposed, and ask what account protections or replacement numbers are appropriate. Monitor statements, account alerts, and credit activity for unfamiliar transactions or applications. Be cautious of later callers who know details about the first incident and claim they can repair it for a fee.
If a suspicious person visited your home
Do not let an unverified worker inside or provide documents. If you feel threatened, contact local law enforcement or emergency services. For repair work, independently check licensing and insurance, obtain a complete written contract, and never sign over an insurance check.
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How to report suspected disaster-relief fraud
Report the incident at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Include the impersonated agency, contact method, date and time, phone number or email, web address, requested information, payment method, and any amount sent. Disaster-fraud complaints may also be submitted through the Department of Justice Disaster Complaint Form. Reporting helps investigators connect similar campaigns, even when no money was lost.
When a bank, card issuer, or payment service is involved, report the fraud to that provider as well. If the incident exposed account credentials, follow the provider’s takeover or identity-theft procedure and continue monitoring for unauthorized activity. Do not warn or confront the scammer; preserve evidence and use official reporting channels.
A quick decision test before you respond
- Did you initiate contact? If not, pause and verify independently.
- Is anyone asking for money? Federal disaster assistance has no application, inspection, or application-help fee.
- Is the requested payment irreversible? Gift cards, crypto, wires, cash, and payment apps are major warning signs.
- Are sensitive details being requested outside a verified portal? Do not provide them.
- Can you confirm the identity using a published agency number? If you cannot, end the interaction.
- Is a contractor demanding an advance, blank signature, or insurance check? Do not sign or pay until licenses, insurance, and a complete contract are independently verified.
A genuine federal relief application does not require a fee to unlock assistance. Independent navigation, a verified callback, cautious handling of personal data, and prompt reporting are the practical defenses against fake portals, phishing messages, impersonators, and upfront-fee scams.
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