US warns of fraudsters posing as funeral home employees

US warns of impersonation of funeral home staff to extort money from relatives of the deceased

Fox News on August 12 quoted FTC officials as saying they had received many complaints about fraud occurring against the families of recently deceased people.

Scammers approach people who are going through the most painful moment when they lose a loved one and pose as funeral home staff to ask for more money.

“Can scammers get any lower?” the FTC wrote in an anti-scam advisory, explaining that these scammers call relatives of the deceased and threaten that the funeral will be canceled if they don’t transfer more money to an account provided by the scammers.

The FTC recommends that people who receive calls demanding additional money remain vigilant and do not immediately transfer money, as funeral service business regulations allow customers time to prepare.

The US committee also recommends that they call the funeral home directly to resolve any financial concerns, and should not transfer money from bank accounts or virtual currencies to anyone.

NBC News quoted Lisa Ann Motto as saying she received a scam call one day after her husband of 22 years died of cancer last month.

“The caller said I needed to make a deposit for insurance, and it needed to be done right away,” Motto said, adding that she was asked to transfer $5,000 through the Zelle and Apple Pay apps.

After she tried to transfer money but it failed because both Zelle and Apple Pay gave warnings that there was a problem with the transaction in progress, the caller suggested she transfer the money via PayPal.

Luckily, her son overheard the conversation and told her to hang up.

"They attack their victims at their weakest moment. There will be a place for them in hell," she said.

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