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Disaster - Alerts   Protect child disaster victims from sexual predators. Report suspicions to the authorities.   Fraudulent reconstruction tenders and advance fee fraud after natural disasters   Disaster Charity Fraud

4-1-9 letters (Nigerian letters)

Fraudulent reconstruction tenders and advance fee fraud following natural disasters

The recent natural disaster in South Asia has caused massive human suffering. Over 150,000 people have died and many more have lost their property and livelihoods.

The survivors of the disaster are starting to rebuild their communities and reconstruct their homes and businesses. They are therefore in need of any support and assistance that is available.

Humanitarian aid organizations are committed to supporting reconstruction efforts by providing financial support, expertise, building materials and clean-up assistance.

Following large-scale disasters, victims spend significant amounts of money to reconstruct their homes and communities, making them targets for criminals in search of easy profits.

There are cases of victims experiencing even more hardship in the aftermath of disasters because of deceit and swindling by criminals offering fraudulent reconstruction assistance.

Fraudulent reconstruction tenders can exacerbate the period of suffering for both victims and their families. In some cases, victims can be ruined financially.

Immediate concerns such as weather conditions, the plight of surviving relatives and other pressing factors sometimes encourage people to neglect important but time-consuming precautionary measures when contracts for reconstruction assistance need to be concluded.

To help disaster victims avoid being cheated by criminals offering fraudulent reconstruction tenders, the INTERPOL General Secretariat recommends the following:

• Do not agree to verbal contracts or promises; rather, insist on written contracts signed by all contract partners.
  
  
• Make sure any verbal agreements or promises are written into the contract before signing.
  
  
• If particular circumstances necessitate a verbal contract, insist on the presence of neutral witnesses when concluding the contract.
  
  
• Check and note the identity of the contractor by asking for identification documents.
  
  
• If possible, choose recommended companies/contractors with proven expertise and verifiable track records in delivering the services they promise.
  
  
• Do not necessarily accept the first tender for contracts, try to obtain several tenders for comparison and choose the best one.
  
  
• Do not pay any advance fees before the work has started.
  
  
• Do not pay the full cost of any materials, work or other services specified in the contract in advance.
  
  
• Do not agree to contracts requiring pre-contracts for expensive insurances or bank loans.
  
  
• Be wary of seemingly low loan terms offered by private persons, and carefully compare these with the loan terms of established banks/financial institutions