Sheriff warns of scammers

Warning: Scammers are afoot in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, and they might try to take advantage as you start your cleanup and repair efforts.

"This is a good opportunity following Hurricane Irma, to remind consumers to always seek legitimate service providers to perform work on their homes or businesses,” Sheriff Tom Knight said in a statement. “When hiring an individual to repair damages, residents MUST verify their contractor is legitimate before allowing any work to be done on their property. Unfortunately, service providers might target the elderly or other vulnerable people who aren’t knowledgeable of repair work and associated costs.”   

The sheriff reminded residents that after a natural disaster, "unlicensed contractors and illegitimate handymen around Florida and from out of state" may try to offer their services as part of a scam.

To avoid falling victim to a scam, you can check to see if a contractor of handyman has a Sarasota County license, or report a suspected scammer, by calling 861-5214 or 861-5000, or going online to scgov.net/contractors.