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Scammers Exploit Iowa's Flooding

Bogus utility employees prey on storm victims

June 16, 2008

Natural Disasters • Storm-Tossed Texans Warned to Watch for Price-Gouging • Digital TV Transition Threatens Portables • Storm Season is Time to Review Insurance Policies • Scammers Exploit Iowa's Flooding • Post-Storm Survival Tips • Midwest Storm Victims May be Victimized Again • Fireman's Fund Offers 'Green' Policy • California Gears Up For Fire Scammers • California Wildfires Aftermath Requires Vigilance • Insurers Dumping Customers Along East Coast • Homeowners Insurance Rates Unfair, Massachusetts Charges • Researchers: La Nina Won't Affect 2006 Atlantic Hurricanes • 2006 Hurricane Forecast: More and Bigger • Few Americans Prepared For Disaster • Illinois Earthquake Rattles Insurers • Consumers Pay the Price for Disasters: Tips on Minimizing Your Losses • Congress Considers Taxpayer-Funded Catastrophe Insurance • Researchers Study East Coast Tsunami Danger • Is the Earth Getting Riskier? Expert Says No • One-Third of U.S. Population Lives in Hazard-Prone Areas • FEMA Tightens Flood Insurance Standards • Preparing Your Home for a Storm • Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency • Hurricane Season Is Time to Review Insurance Coverage • Tremors Rattle Californians

A raging flood is not the only disaster besetting the State of Iowa. Scammers posing as utility workers are apparently taking advantage of the chaos to steal money from homeowners.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is advising electric and gas utility customers to ask for identification from persons who come to their homes and claim to be utility workers. Customers who are approached by utility workers should look for official insignia, ask for an official I.D. badge or identification, and report any suspicious persons immediately to the utility, and to the sheriff or police and the Attorney General's Office.

Unfortunately, scam artists are known to try to take advantage of storm-battered, vulnerable persons in cleanup and recovery phases, and even during the emergency phase of a disaster.

MidAmerican Energy security officials informed state officials that one of their customers in Waterloo reported suspicious activity last Wednesday.

The customer said two men in gray suits and white hard hats were in the Waterloo area going house to house, saying they were subcontractors with MidAmerican Energy Company, and would disconnect electric service for a fee anywhere from $50 to $100.

MidAmerican said it does not charge for disconnecting or reconnecting service. The customer contacted MidAmerican's Call Center and also contacted the police and reported to them.

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