Funeral directors will never ask you to pay to watch a livestream, police say. Photo: Pexels.
Murrumbidgee Police have warned social media users to be wary of fake funeral livestream scams, which are proliferating on Facebook.
“Scammers are creating fake funeral livestreams and fundraising pages,” police say.
“Scammers contact friends and family with a fake livestream link, leading to a malicious website that steals your personal information and often requests payments and/or credit card details.”
Officers warn that funeral directors will never request payment to attend a funeral, either in-person or to watch via a livestream.
NSW Police also say funeral directors will never send you a social media request, private message or request for your personal details.
The UK’s National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) has provided more information about these livestreams.
“The scam, like a lot of them, preys on vulnerable people and those who are an easy target,” NAFD says.
“It’s very simple; scammers take genuine funeral information from the internet and post links to a supposed livestream of the funeral, asking for credit card details to secure the ‘booking’. Once people enter the details, their card details are in the hands of fraudsters which can then cause significant financial loss to the cardholder.
“There are other tactics. These scammers set up fake profiles and send friends requests to those close to the deceased person, often asking for money for fundraising campaigns or donations that don’t exist. They even publish complete pages claiming to be a legitimate tribute page.
“The problem is, these fake links and pages look so real. They often copy and paste real photographs of the deceased person taken from a funeral director’s site or a genuine tribute site. The pages and posts look real, but they are not – and could have severe consequences for those who engage with them.”
NSW Police urge residents to contact funeral homes directly for livestream details and to check with family and friends before donating to a fundraising page.
“If in doubt, don’t donate,” police say.
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