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Hurricane Dorian: Beware of scams, crimes during storm, Florida sheriff warns

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Central Florida scammers have been on the loose while Hurricane Dorian travels close to Florida's east coast.

Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood is warning residents of scammers who are claiming they are city workers.

"An 83-year-old woman fell prey to a tree scammer who told her she needed to get her tree cut back because of the hurricane. They befriended her and eventually absconded with over $20,000 from her," Chitwood said.

"The second scam occurred in DeLand, where they showed up at a house of an individual who is visually impaired, and they managed to make their way into the home and say they were from the city of DeLand to inspect the tap water."

Chitwood said that if someone claiming to be a city or county worker, roofer or electrician comes to your house, don't let the person in.

"Call 911, and get the police there as quick as possible," he said.

"You've gotta be a real scumbag if you're gonna attack people who are blind and people who are extremely elderly and show up and try to scam them out of tens of thousands of dollars."

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