City of Long Beach Advises Residents of Scam Alerts for Relief Efforts Supporting Wildfire Victims

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PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach urges all people to be aware of scams related to the wildfires and relief efforts. In recent days, there has been an outpouring of compassion by people wanting to help those affected by the wildfires and, as in any emergency, scammers use the opportunity to take advantage.

Tips for avoiding scams:

• Donate directly. Visit the organization's official website to make a donation; avoid responding to unsolicited emails, social media posts, or phone calls, where scammers might be impersonating legitimate organizations.
• Stick to known organizations, such as those listed below.
• Never give out personal information such as name, date of birth, social security number or bank information to unsolicited callers.
• Review additional tips for avoiding scams, offered by the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).

Organizations currently accepting donations to directly impact L.A. County residents include:

• The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which is seeking donations to provide critical tools and resources for first responders battling wildfires, such as emergency fire shelters, hydration backpacks and wildland brush tools.
• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank: The Food Bank is accepting monetary donations and food donations at their two distribution centers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. located at: 1734 East 41st Street, Los Angeles, California 90058 and 2300 Pellissier Place, Industry, CA 90601.
• The Pasadena Humane Society, which is accepting pet supplies but whose greatest need is monetary donations to treat burned and injured animals.
• The California Community Foundation's Wildfire Recovery Fund, which supports communities with both intermediate recovery and long-term resilience.
• GoFundMe has also collected verified fundraisers impacted by the fires on its wildfire relief page.

Other organizations to donate to include:

• The American Red Cross: The Red Cross is seeking monetary donations to aid wildfire victims and support their recovery efforts.
• The Salvation Army: They are accepting monetary donations and in-kind items to assist those affected. If you're able to volunteer, reach out to your local Salvation Army to offer your help to those impacted by the wildfires.

If residents believe they are a victim of a scam, the LBPD urges them to:

• Call the non-emergency line at 562.435.6711.
• Phone scams should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.
• Scams over the internet should be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
• Both of the above websites have additional resources on scams and identity theft.

The City has launched longbeach.gov/emergency, a dedicated webpage to provide vital public health and safety information, resources and various real-time updates in relation to the ongoing fires in Los Angeles County.

Media inquiries may be directed to City of Long Beach Joint Information Center at 562.570.NEWS or [email protected].

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