Fire-ravaged Lahaina is devastated, a toxic ruin. But it is fertile ground for scam artists, and the suffering victims and their families are vulnerable targets.

Suddenly and shockingly, they lost their homes, their livelihoods, their very way of life, in a single day. More tragically, some have family members lost or unaccounted for. The mental stress they must bear seems unbearable.

Nonetheless, through their grief, they must face the question: Now what?

Scammers and unscrupulous profiteers are more than happy to answer that question. It has become common in major disasters for predators to crop up, armed with increasingly sophisticated methods to prey on victims in their moment of vulnerability, separating them from their desperately needed money. The scammers promise all kinds of things: Here’s some quick cash for your property. If you don’t fill out this form, you’ll be ineligible for benefits. Don’t trust the government; it wants to take away your rights.

The swindlers need to be driven away. How?

First, survivors and their families must have access to a trustworthy network of financial and mental health services they can count on for the long haul, negating the lure of false promises.

Second, county, state and federal law enforcement must commit to aggressively investigating and prosecuting scammers during this uncertain time.

Third, the public must be educated to recognize potential scams, to act with extreme caution, and to report suspicious activity.

Fortunately, all three approaches are in the works. But they need to be maintained and expanded indefinitely.

A massive amount of financial and logistical support from public and private agencies, as well as from a generous public, has poured into Maui, providing everything from bottled water to funds for moving people out of shelters to private housing.

But scammers are persistent, and defeating them requires persistent countermeasures.

Prompted by reports that speculators were approaching survivors to buy their home sites, Gov. Josh Green instructed the state attorney general to seek ways to impose a moratorium on land transactions. At a news conference on Wednesday, Green also warned speculators: “Don’t approach their families to tell them that they’re going to be better off if they make a deal, because we’re not going to allow it.”

Scams to watch out for:

>> Unscrupulous people posing as contractors, offering to rebuild survivors’ homes or clean up their property for a hefty deposit. Often, the businesses don’t exist. After the 2018 Paradise, Calif., fire, survivors reported contractors who abandoned them after barely starting construction, if at all.

>> Imposters posing as government officials, promising disaster relief in exchange for money or personal information, like Social Security numbers.

>> Imposters posing as insurance agents, pressuring survivors to provide private information.

Other kinds of misinformation can be equally damaging.

Already, social media trolls reportedly are claiming, with no basis in fact, that government officials are withholding critical information and even lying about aspects of the recovery. While government officials certainly should not be shielded from criticism and scrutiny — it’s the deadliest disaster in recent U.S. history, and questions must be asked — spreading lies undermines public confidence, hindering or even blocking agencies’ ability to make the hard, necessary decisions to speed recovery.

The basic bottom line: If approached to give money or provide personal information, do not engage, regardless of how authentic the person, or the email, or the text, appears to be. Do an independent check first. And take Green’s advice about believing what you read on random social media sites: It’s “idiotic.”

More information about scams and how to avoid them can be found at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Hawaii, at www.justice.gov/usao-hi.