Cyber criminals are currently exploiting the ongoing Southern California wildfires by using Southern California wildfire-themed lures for their phishing attempts and scams. Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that uses fraudulent messages to trick people into sharing sensitive information, such as account credentials or banking information. Phishing can be conducted through emails, text messages, QR codes, phone calls and voicemails.
Follow these best practices to avoid scams:
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for email and user accounts wherever possible.
- Do not click on links contained in any email or text related to the Southern California wildfires. Instead, manually visit the organization’s website.
- Watch out for misspelled URLs or unusual domain extensions. Anything other than “.com,” “.net,” “.org” or “.gov” would be suspicious and likely malicious.
- Ensure the website you are visiting is secure by looking for “https” and a padlock symbol next to the address bar.
- Do not give personal or financial information to anyone you haven’t verified.
- Never make a charity donation using cash.
- If it seems suspicious, it probably is.
Report California Wildfire Scams
Please report any California wildfire-themed phishing emails and/or smishing texts by emailing the California Cybersecurity Integration Center at calcsic_watch@caloes.ca.gov.
Useful Contact Information
The following is a verified list of some city, county, state and federal agencies, and organizations you can use to verify the authenticity of any scams.
- Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)
877-275-5373; lapdonline.org - California Department of Insurance
800-927-4357; insurance.ca.gov - California Contractors State License Board (CSLB)
800-321-CSLB (2752); cslb.ca.gov - Los Angeles County Consumer & Business Affairs
800-593-8222; dcba.lacounty.gov - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
800-621-3362; fema.gov - Better Business Bureau (BBB)
213-631-3600; bbb.org
Learn More
Click the PDF below to view the full cybersecurity advisory notice from the California Cybersecurity Integration Center. View examples of current and common scams circulating on social media.
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