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Disaster Legal Aid Trainings: After a Disaster: ID Theft, Scams, and Insurance

/ Blog Post

In the fourth installment of the Disaster Resilience Awareness Month training series, Equal Justice Works Fellow Stephanie Duke (she/her/hers) at Disability Rights Texas teamed up with Linda Williams, community outreach and training manager at Consumer Action, to address ID theft, how to protect yourself as a disaster survivor, potential protections as a beneficiary of an insurance policy, and shared consumer resources. The training titled, “After a Disaster: ID Theft, Scams, and Insurance,” was prerecorded and shared on Disability Rights Texas’ Facebook page on March 10.

At the session, Stephanie and Linda discussed how in the aftermath of a disaster, individuals are at a higher risk of being taken advantage of by con artists and scammers and how important it is to know what scammers are looking for, how they can steal it, and how to safeguard yourself not only today but in the future. Identity theft hinges on someone having access to your personal identifying information (PII)—your name, social security number, credit card account number, birth date, and even medical information. The session emphasized broad topics to consider like how to build your awareness and protect yourself from identity theft. Consumer Action created this helpful resource that provides information on best practices for protecting yourself from scammers.

If your organization is interested in teaming up with Equal Justice Works for Disaster Resilience Awareness Month, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Disaster Resilience Awareness Month is made possible thanks to the generous support of Equal Justice Works host organizations: Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, Disability Rights Texas, Lone Star Legal Aid, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc., and YMCA International Services.

The Equal Justice Works Disaster Resilience Program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, the Bigglesworth Family Foundation, and individual contributions.

Learn more about becoming an Equal Justice Works Fellow