Scammers target quake anxiety
Officials say schemes may target residents feeling anxiety over the recent temblors.
Orange County officials say suspicious calls have told people to evacuate, possibly an attempt at burglary.
Officials are warning California residents to be wary of scammers trying to take advantage of their earthquake anxiety.
The state is on high alert after two major earthquakes rocked Southern California last week with enough force to rupture Highway 178 between Ridgecrest and Trona. Plus, there’s the possibility of more large earthquakes on the way.
While aftershocks continued to rattle the Ridgecrest area, Orange County officials warned residents of schemes aimed at persuading them to leave their homes in what could be a prank or a ruse in an attempt to set up a burglary.
The city of Aliso Viejo said in a Facebook post Monday that officials had been made aware of a scam in which residents were phoned by an unknown caller who claimed to predict earthquakes and told them to leave their homes for safety.
A spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff ’s Department said four calls were reported by Aliso Viejo residents Sunday evening who said they had received calls telling them there would be an 8.4 magnitude earthquake and that they should evacuate their homes immediately.
“Dispatchers provided the callers with information that Orange County does not have an alert system that would contact them prior to an earthquake, and that it may have been a scam,” said Carrie Braun, a public information officer for the department, in an email.
Braun said it was unclear why the calls were made and her office hadn’t received reports of similar calls since.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the sheriff’s office in Kern County, which is home to Ridgecrest, said they had received no reports of suspicious calls as of Tuesday afternoon.
Earthquake scams have come around before. In 2015, Beverly Hills police warned residents about a phone scam in which a caller claiming to be a city official asked to inspect property for earthquake damage.
In Japan, soon after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands, authorities issued warnings that scammers were fraudulently seeking donations for victims.
Orange County officials said anyone who receives a suspicious call should report it to the local law enforcement agency via nonemergency numbers.
In its Facebook post, the city of Aliso Viejo also asked residents to verify the source of the call because local authorities may use only certain communication methods in case of emergencies, which may not include direct phone calls to residents.
The L.A. County Sheriff ’s Department advises residents to be on guard for phone scams by letting unknown callers to go to voicemail. If someone does pick up a suspicious call and shares personal information, the department encourages them to report the incident to local law enforcement.
If you live in California and have received a suspicious phone call related to recent earthquake activity, please share your story with alexa.diaz@latimes.com.