North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey is warning residents of scammers who come to homeowners after storms and offer on the spot to fix damage — damage that Causey says may not even exist.

Causey is urging people to be cautious of anyone coming to their door offering a free roof inspection. He said this a common trick anytime North Carolina has a significant storm.

“I’m not here to disparage any of our legitimate contractors, but we have an epidemic of fraud, especially a roofing fraud,” Causey said.

After storms — including ice storms, hailstorms, hurricanes and other events — people will go door-to-door, leaving business cards and offering free roof inspections or other services, he said.

“Most of these folks are nothing but true scam artists trying to take your money,” he said. “So we’re urging people to be on high alert for anybody that comes to your house offering a free roof inspection. The best solution is just say no. Make sure you know who you’re dealing with, with a local, reputable business.

People can lose money on hiring a contractor who then does shoddy work or uses “inferior” materials, Causey said. Then, insurance companies might choose not to insure a home with a roof in poor condition.

When looking for a roofing contractor, people should check references and check whether the contractor is licensed, bonded and has a good reputation with the Better Business Bureau, Causey said. If the prospective contractor asks them to sign a paper, the person should be aware of whether they are signing an assignment of benefits. An assignment of benefits ensures the money the insurance company is paying goes directly to the contractor, and if the person ties to break the contract, they would end up owing a percentage of the costs because of the contract.

“So don’t sign anything unless you know exactly what you’re signing,” Causey said.

Some of contractors have created damage on a roof so they can show the homeowner later that the roof is damaged, Causey said. His office has set up cameras in the past that have caught that.

“They’ll take a screwdriver or pry bar and pry up shingles or bend the shingles to make it appear like there’s damage that wasn’t there,” Causey said. “They take golf balls and put in socks and they’ll bang them down on the shingles to look like hail damage, different tricks like that. And they’ll take a picture, or they’ll take a sample and go show the homeowner and say, you you’ve got a real problem on your roof, and we can fix it right now.”

They’ll often ask for a large deposit on the spot to do the work, he said. Then, they might not show up to complete the work.

Many contractor issues turn into legal battles, Causey said.

If a person suspects fraud, they can report it anonymously at ncdoi.gov. They can report insurance issues to the Department of Insurance’s website or via the toll-free phone number, 855-408-1212.