Hurricane season is underway, and Floridians need to prepare now to make sure they have a plan, food, water and the tools to survive when a storm arrives. Following recent storms, many businesses donated essentials and helped Floridians obtain the supplies they needed to weather the storm. Sadly, we also witness unscrupulous individuals exploiting disasters to profit off their neighbors’ urgent needs by price gouging.

This week, we announced our new price gouging reporting app: NO SCAM. The app allows consumers to gather and report vital price gouging information and send it immediately to my office when they suspect price gouging.

The app will allow users in real-time to:

• Send pictures of prices on signs and products;
• Capture photos of receipts;
• Write narratives of interactions with sellers of an essential commodity;
• Report evidence of prices of identical products by different sellers in the same vicinity; and
• Capture additional supporting documentation.

The NO SCAM app is free and easy to use. It is available through Apple and Android stores by searching NO SCAM. More than 1,500 people have already downloaded our app just days after launch. There are no imminent storms and hurricane preparation is the farthest thing from most people’s minds, but now is the time to prepare. Download this app now to become familiar with its features.

Our investigators cannot be everywhere, but with this app, and with motivated, informed consumers, we can work together to stop price gouging when safety, not sales are of the utmost importance.

Price gouging is not only immoral, it’s illegal, and this hurricane season, and every season that follows, my office will aggressively investigate and bring to justice anyone violating Florida’s Price Gouging Laws.