Scammers may be taking advantage of the California wildfires: How to protect yourself

Deadly wildfires have devastated Los Angeles neighborhoods, destroying homes and forcing thousands to evacuate.

As the fires continue to threaten the region, Americans looking for ways to assist those affected could be prey for cyber criminals trying to receive advantage of the crisis.

But there are ways to remain secure online. Here’s what to look for and how to assist those impacted by the wildfires in Southern California while avoiding scams.

How disasters can navigator to digital dangers

Cyber scams popping up around natural disasters or large information events are becoming more ordinary, Cliff Steinhauer, information safety and engagement director at the National Cybersecurity Alliance, told USA TODAY.

With environmental or natural disasters, like the Los Angeles wildfires, people desire to assist. And “if you’re wanting to assist, you have some emotional property and it makes you feel better to send money to something, but you may not be slowing down to make sure it’s the correct something,” Steinhauer said.

Scammers also pay close attention to the information pattern of a disaster, he said, because the more relevant their scam is, the more likely it is to be successful.

Almost half of Americans said they have personally encountered a cyberattack or digital scam attempt online, a 2024 cyber readiness update from buyer Reports found. Of those who have encountered cyber scams, 19% said they have lost money to the scam, according to the update.

More:Wildfires are devastating communities in the Los Angeles region: How you can assist.

ordinary scams and social engineering

There are a few ordinary scams related to these events that people should be mindful of, most of them types of “social engineering.”

Social engineering is the habit of someone using manipulation or deceptive practices to get access to a person or organization’s sensitive digital information, like passwords or private details.

Scammers may look for opportunities to slide into the mix of ongoing information coverage and urgent updates with fake donation pages.

But beyond stealing donation money from people trying to assist, scammers may try to receive advantage of victims seeking assistance.

Those affected by a disaster should be wary of people reaching purporting to be able to assist, Steinhauer said. “Scammers might harvest financial institution account information or sensitive information and then turn around and steal their identity.”

Cybercriminals could claim to be government agencies or charities hoping to boost depend and the chance to steal money or data, so whether people desire to provide or receive assistance, they should confirm they’re reaching out to the correct groups and legitimate authorities.

Inbound attempts, such as phishing emails, spam phone calls or texts, can also be ways attackers try to steer people toward malicious websites.

The use of artificial intelligence can also make some scams harder to spot.

“With AI, attackers are using generative language models to arrive up with better pretext for phishing,” Steinhauer said. “They aren’t as poorly written or have the misspellings or impoverished grammar that they used to.”

How to remain secure online

People who desire to assist and people seeking assistance should be cautious when donating or communicating with organizations.

Some red flags to look out for are misspelled URLs, odd domain names and if they receive a safety warning when navigating to a site, Steinhauer said.

Phishing attempts are most often inbound, but people should be cautious with contact information they view on social media, too, he said.

“Occasionally you’ll view phone numbers or email addresses advertised on social media in paid ads,” Steinhauer said. “Not every paid ad is legitimate.”

The Better Business Bureau advises people to be wary of vague programs that don’t explain what someone’s back will assist, and the organization recommends checking a charity on provide.org to make sure it’s trustworthy.

GoFundMe has aggregated a list of verified fundraisers, and the business said it has a throng monitoring and continuing to update the page with fundraisers as they are verified.

For more ways to assist those impacted by the wildfires, USA TODAY has a list of services, charities and organizations and additional information.