(CNN) It's a sad reality: After natural disasters, there will always be those who want to prey on the displaced, the down-and-out and the desperate.

These scams can come in the form of financial investment offers, loan schemes, charitable crowdfunding pages or countless other predatory tactics hidden beneath a veneer of altruism.

State and federal officials are warning Hurricane Florence survivors, and those who want to help them, about scams. Here's their advice.

Be wary of cold calls and unsolicited messages

"We know from experience that financial predators often take advantage of disasters to peddle their schemes and profit from the misfortune of others," Ronald W. Thomas, the director of the Virginia State Corporation Commission's Division of Securities and Retail Franchising said in an SCC release.