State leaders say criminals will find ways to commit fraud during hurricane season

Sudan Britton
·1 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — With hurricane season approaching, state leaders say some criminals will find ways to commit insurance fraud schemes. Here’s what to watch for to protect yourself from these schemes.

“Is the contractor, are they licensed? Do they have insurance? Do they have a good reputation?” asked Nathan Strebeck, Deputy Commissioner, Louisiana Department of Insurance.

These are questions Strebeck said consumers need to ask. He said they can keep you from being a victim of insurance and contractor fraud.

“If you have questions call us, we see this stuff on a regular basis,” Strebeck said. “I would tell consumers to be very careful because artificial intelligence is growing very fast particularly as it relates to the use of deep fakes.”

Strebeck said this type of fraud happens often during hurricane season. Criminals target people who may already be disaster victims. Strebeck said they are getting smarter about how they do it.

If you’re caught doing fraudulent crimes, you can face thousands of dollars in fines and up to five years in jail.

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Strebeck said state leaders are working to crack down on these criminal acts.

“We are looking at new and innovative ways to detect and to investigate and to deter insurance fraud in our state,” said Strebeck. “Some of those ways would include the ability to detect large-scale collusive fraud.”

Strebeck has a message for residents who happen to fall victim to the scams.

“I would just remind consumers that we are a resource for them,” Strebeck said.

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