GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Better Business Bureau in West Michigan is reminding residents to watch out for scammers in the wake of our latest round of winter weather.

According to the BBB, many unlicensed scammers will try to take advantage of the sudden storm damage to find work or easy targets.

“We do see, down the road, somebody’s been fighting for months and months with maybe a bad contractor or someone they hired and isn’t getting responses, getting the job done, paying money and not getting the services they asked for. That’s when we run into those issues. And so we want to prevent that now,” BBB spokesperson Katie Grevious said.

You may run across bad actors on social media or they might come calling. The BBB said to be leery of certain sales tactics, specifically deals that seem “too good to be true” or “high-pressure sales tactics” like “it needs to be done right away because it is dangerous.”

“The quicker fix the better, especially here in West Michigan. We love our quick fixes. We love saving money. But that can get us in a lot of trouble,” Grevious said.

Sometimes, she added, problems can arise even from good intentions when contractors take on more clients than they can handle.

The BBB has five tips to ensure you are dealing with a trusted contractor: ensure the company has working contact information, hire only licensed and insured contractors, get multiple bids, get a signed written contract (and read through it) and never pay the full amount up front.

You can learn more about finding accredited contractors at the BBB’s website: bbb.org.

—News 8’s Joe LaFurgey contributed to this report.