The Latest Scam Concerns Funerals, in the UK

[Mike]

Mourners targeted in Facebook funeral scams​

That is the BBC Headline, I heard this on the radio
news this morning.

The scammers, who are believed to be in Bangladesh,
haven't been caught yet, but they are reported to watch
Facebook, for anybody reporting a death and when the
funeral will take place.

The scammers get to work, they build a fake page, with
pictures and information taken from, the deceased's family,
they then send an invitation to watch the funeral on YouTube
live, plus they demand payment for setting it up, just hours
before the funeral, they get the card number etc., then go
to the bank!
Mourners targeted in Facebook funeral scams

Looks like nothing is safe now.

I see that the article is dated March 2024, but this is the first
that I heard about such a despicable act.

Mike.

 

[Aunt Bea]

We never seem to run out of scams.

Years ago, in the days before the internet, burglars used to read the obituary columns in the newspaper and break into homes during the calling hours and funerals.

 

[Sunny]

And we went though a period where the local burglars somehow got lists of addresses of the kids graduating from high school. On graduation night, they knew probably no one in those houses would be home, so they broke in and robbed the house. We were one of the victims the night my daughter graduated. We read about the "rash" of burglaries in our neighborhood the next day. Each house had a kid graduating that night.

The burglars are apparently specialists. Ours specialized in items made of silver. In those days, lots of stuff in the dining room were made of silver. The funny thing is, they walked right past my daughter's flute, which was sitting on the table in a box. That was our most valuable silver item.

 

[Aunt Bea]

These stories should make people think twice about posting all of their information in real time on Facebook or other forms of social media.

I know many people that are eager to post a picture of their plate in a nice restaurant or a photo of them at some event.

The same with over sharing information about children and grandchildren.

This isn’t the world that we grew up in.

 

[hollydolly]

Then there was when neighbourhod watch first became a thing, in way of thanks for all their help and hard work, the police would send an invitation to all the residents of an avenue or small cul-de-sac for a fancy dinner at a fancy hotel. ...on a certain night between certain hours

Only it was a scam by burglers ..thus knowing that most of the houses in that road would be empty on one particular night

 

[Michael Z]

Modern day version of the old obituary scam, considered too low for even some hardened criminals in its time.