--- title: How to Help California Wildfire Victims — Without Getting Scammed description: Here's how to help victims of the Southern California wildfires and protect yourself from scammers. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 500 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Martha C. White role: Writer url: https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/ education: BA, English, Princeton University at_money_since: 2015 articles: 351 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology published: '2025-01-09T21:31:08.000Z' modified: '2025-01-09T21:36:43.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - News word_count: 1067 canonical: https://money.com/help-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![A fire fighter works the Eaton fire on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, CA](https://img.money.com/2025/01/News-Donate-California-Fires.jpg) *Altadena, California* Harrowing images and videos of homes, businesses and forests engulfed in flames are flooding social media as firefighters battle at least six separate wildfires, buttressed by strong winds, across Southern California. The situation is dire for many affected residents, with more than 1 million, predominately in Los Angeles County, without power. Thousands have been forced to evacuate. Officials have also confirmed at least five deaths as of Thursday. In terms of monetary losses, AccuWeather predicts the fires will cost more than $50 billion, including losses due to business interruptions and other effects. J.P. Morgan also [estimated](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-01-09/loss-from-wildfires-could-surpass-50-billion) that damages could surpass $50 billion, largely due to the high home values in the affected area, putting this torrent of wildfires on track to become the costliest in the nation’s history. ## Protect your home with a policy that suits your needs ### Get the protection you need with a Home Insurance policy, ensuring safety and peace of mind. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/be9e0622f456?ap_referrer=%2Fhelp-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams%2F) The steep toll and shocking scenes are spurring many Americans to try to help the victims by donating. Unfortunately, the situation is rallying another group into action, too: scammers, who are already taking advantage of heightened emotions and sense of urgency to line their pockets. Here’s how you can help wildfire victims without becoming a victim yourself. ## How to donate to California wildfire victims safely Following the state of emergency declaration on Tuesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta [issued an alert](https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-issues-consumer-alert-price-gouging-following-state-13), reminding residents of the state's anti-price gouging rules during emergencies and warning donors to stay vigilant when trying to lend a helping hand. “Your first level of defense is your own instincts,” Bonta said during a CBS Los Angeles [interview](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/attorney-general-rob-bonta-issues-warning-about-price-gouging-amid-wildfires/) on Wednesday. “If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.” Bonta added that you should never answer random texts that are soliciting donations. He said you should only donate to organizations that you have confirmed that are legitimate, using tools such as ones provided by the [California Attorney General](https://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Search.aspx?facility=Y) and [Secretary of State](https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business/) offices to help you verify the legitimacy of any aid organization operating in the state. The large size of these government databases — which include roughly 150,000 nonprofits that are cleared to operate in the state — make them less than useful for selecting an organization, but they can be a valuable resource for verifying that one is in good standing If you want to help but aren't sure where to start, here are several reputable organizations providing wildfire relief.~ ~ ### American Red Cross The American Red Cross, one of the nation's most well-known nonprofit disaster-relief organizations, [confirmed Wednesday](https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/2025/red-cross-helping-in-southern-california-as-wildfires-force-thousands-from-their-homes.html) that it’s sending teams “on the ground” to support victims of the ongoing wildfires in the region. The organization says you can support its efforts by visiting [redcross.org](https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-to4.html/?adobe_mc_sdid=SDID%3D34621EFDE88F5B9A-37F35290DA477BB8%7CMCORGID%3D723A22C757518E2C7F000101@AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1719338889&adobe_mc_ref=https:%2F%2Fwww.redcross.org%2Fabout-us%2Fnews-and-events%2Fnews%2F2024%2Fred-cross-responds-to-western-wildfires.html), calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or texting REDCROSS to 90999. ### United Way of Greater Los Angeles The greater Los Angeles branch of the nonprofit United Way has a dedicated [Wildlife Response Fund](https://unitedwayla.org/wildfire-response-resources/) to assist with long-term recovery efforts in the area such as providing shelter, assistance paying bills and health services. The organization accepts donations online at [unitedwayla.org](http://unitedwayla.org). ### California Fire Foundation The nonprofit California Fire Foundation provides emotional and financial assistance to communities affected by fires, firefighters and families of fallen firefighters. The organization says it is assisting with relief efforts amid the ongoing wildfires by “working with local fire agencies and community-based organizations to provide direct financial support to impacted residents.” The California Fire Foundation is accepting wildfire relief donations through [this online form](https://cpf.salsalabs.org/disasterrelief/index.html). ### California Community Foundation The Los Angeles-based nonprofit California Community Foundation provides financial support to fund long-term recovery and assistance efforts. The organization says its [Wildfire Recovery Fund](https://www.calfund.org/funds/wildfire-recovery-fund/) provides aid to the most marginalized and vulnerable members of the affected communities. Wildfire relief donations are accepted online via this [page](https://www.pledge.to/ccfwildfirerelieffund) or by checks mailed to: *California Community Foundation* *717 W Temple St.* *Los Angeles, CA 90012.* Include “Wildfire Recovery Fund” in the memo. ### GoFundMe Now synonymous with emergency donations, fundraising site GoFundMe is a popular place for individual victims to tell their story and request financial support. For donors, however, it can be sometimes difficult to determine if an impassioned plea for support is genuine. To assist would-be donors, GoFundMe has aggregated a [list of verified fundraisers](https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/wildfire-relief/california) — including both impacted families and nonprofits assisting the community — for people affected by the California wildfires. Keep in mind, the site charges the fundraiser a fee (currently 2.9% plus 30 cents) for all donations through its platform. Additionally, GoFundMe.org — the company’s nonprofit arm — is running its own [fundraiser to support victims of the wildfires](https://www.gofundme.com/f/wildfire-relief-fund-2025). GoFundMe says donations made to this aggregated fundraiser are tax deductible. (Donations to individuals on GoFundMe.com may not always be.) The money raised will be distributed to verified nonprofit organizations working on wildfire relief as well as individual families who are confirmed to have been impacted by the disaster. ### Donating essential items Aside from monetary donations, several organizations are accepting essential goods from locals as they work on the ground to provide relief, according to the [*Los Angeles Times*](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-08/how-to-help-victims-of-pacific-palisades-eaton-and-hurst-fires), which has a comprehensive list of local disaster-relief resources. YMCAs in Los Angeles' Koreatown district, for instance, are collecting and distributing pantry foods, pet foods, clothing and similar items. The Salvation Army's South California Division is doing the same. ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/12792/medium_fd9d54bc-1ff5-46ab-98d0-0c42e163a770.png) Find the Home Insurance policy that meets your needs [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/sd5a4f127f27?ap_referrer=%2Fhelp-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams%2F) ## Other tips to avoid scams The above organizations are only a sample of the dozens of groups working to help the victims of the California wildfires. Undoubtedly, there are other people and organizations worthy of your donations, but it's important to do some due diligence and make sure that you're donating to a group that will actually use your money to help wildfire victims. When deciding to donate to a disaster relief organization, the California Attorney General’s office says to remain vigilant. Watch out for “look alike” websites and similarly-sounding names of otherwise legitimate organizations. When in doubt, type in the organization’s name into [this state-government run database](https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business/) to see if it’s authorized to operate as a nonprofit and is in good standing. Bonta’s office says that scammers often convey a sense of urgency or use pressure to get people to donate — but it's okay to pause and verify before donating. “Be wary,” Bonta said. “Use your instincts and confirm that the entity that you think you're talking to is actually the one you're communicating with.” ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/12792/medium_fd9d54bc-1ff5-46ab-98d0-0c42e163a770.png) Find the Home Insurance policy that meets your needs [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/sd5a4f127f27?ap_referrer=%2Fhelp-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/help-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "How to Help California Wildfire Victims — Without Getting Scammed" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/help-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/help-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams/", "name": "How to Help California Wildfire Victims — Without Getting Scammed", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-01-09T21:31:08.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/help-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/help-california-wildfire-victims-avoid-scams/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-01-09T21:36:43.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "How to Help California Wildfire Victims — Without Getting Scammed", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/01/News-Donate-California-Fires.jpg", "width": 1577, "height": 1051, "caption": "News-Donate-California-Fires" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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