NPR. Natural disasters leave devastation behind. Chard houses, flooded streets, lost possessions,

and often tragically, loss of life. But for many survivors, the danger doesn't

end there. That's when another crisis hits, contractor scams. This is the indicator from

Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong, and I'm here with reporter Nevina Saddossum from Grist,

a non-profit newsroom covering climate change. Navina, thanks for coming on the show. Hi, thanks for

having me. So you have been reporting on the disaster economy as your beat, and that is like

the systems that turn disaster recovery into a marketplace. Exactly. Yeah, when people lose

their homes to natural disasters, they're really desperate to rebuild, and that's often when scammers

strike. In 2024, weather-related disasters caused 183 billion in infrastructure losses. So that's why

contract of fraud has essentially become a really lucrative business. One estimate suggests in

recent years

that roughly 10% of post-disaster spending

is lost to scams every year.

So today on the show, how these scams work

and what people can do to protect themselves.

Plus, the story of one fire-damaged homeowner

in Southern California,

whose personal disaster

turned into a legal and financial nightmare.

November 6, 2024 was just like any other day for Craig Crosby.

Sunny, clear, slightly windy day. I went out that morning and cleaned the pool.

He saw some smoke in the distance, but thought it was just another California wildfire.

...