Moving scams prominent in Florida during peak moving season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida continues to be one of the states with the fastest population growth and with that growth, moving scams are becoming more common here.

One increasingly popular tactic is fake moving companies preying on residents coming to or leaving Florida in the middle of peak moving season. Experts said that is a perfect recipe for scam movers to hustle a deposit from an unsuspecting consumer or just get your sensitive personal information.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

“It’s extremely heartbreaking taking those calls. People will tell us they thought they were moving with a reputable mover and as they explain, their stories weren’t lining up or the paperwork didn’t line up,” Ben Johnson, Senior Director of Operations at moving company Atlas Van Lines, said.

Johnson recommends that people moving double-check everything before hiring any help, that goes for companies that claim to move boxes as well as those who say they ship cars.

According to the newest moving scams report, the total national financial loss of moving scams was around $32 million this year. That’s a 5% increase since last year. It amounts to about $430 per family.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

The number of attempted scams is likely to be much higher because most go unreported. Experts said the biggest red flags for consumers are companies with no reputation on social media and a company representative who withholds key details for a move.

“When it comes to these scams, there is always this one third-party assistant who tries to arrange on your behalf, but they never can disclose who will show up to your home,” Johnson said.

Officials at Atlas Van Lines said scammers continue coming back mostly because many people do not report these crimes. They urge victims to reach out to the Better Business Bureau or at least go to your local police department.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.