[header] How to report disaster fraud [title] Identify fraud. [step] Fraud is defined as an intentional misrepresentation of fact by someone who knows that the fact is false, all with the intent of encouraging someone to act to their detriment. A person commits fraud when they intentionally lie in order to rip someone else off. 
In the aftermath of a natural disaster, someone can commit fraud in the following ways : [substeps] File a false insurance claim with an insurer. For example, someone might tear down a structure on their property and claim that the hurricane knocked it down.