Pa. Attorney General Sending Scam-Fighters Into Flood Ravaged Areas
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - The Pennsylvania attorney general's office says its agents and investigators are now deployed in the Philadelphia region and other areas hit by recent storms, keeping an eye out for scammers and price gouging.
Nils Frederiksen, spokesman for attorney general Linda Kelly, says office personnel are in the field conducting spot checks, and so far, so good.
"We've had some scattered, anecdotal reports," Frederiksen said, "but so far all of the areas that we've checked, all the contractors that we've checked, all the prices that we've checked, appear to be legitimate."
Frederiksen says that while the idea is to bust scammers and price gougers if they are discovered, it's also hoped that having agents and investigators in storm-damaged areas will scare away those unscrupulous operators who might have a notion to rip people off.
He says agents are also talking to residents in those areas to educate them about possible risks.
Some of the warning signs of scams: unsolicited door-to-door visits, high pressure sales pitches, no written estimates or contracts, and requests for large upfront payments.
Reported by KYW Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tony Romeo
