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Funeral scam running through Facebook. How to avoid it so your grief doesn’t turn to anger

This new scam preys on people grieving the loss of a loved one.

If there is a corner of the universe that is not susceptible to a scam, The Watchdog would like to know.

No part of our lives — from banks to computers to car buying — is immune from infiltration by low life scammers.

It’s a career, a profession. Judging by the sheer number of scams, the crooks likely make far more money every day than you and I do.

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I’ve learned of one that has gotten some exposure this year, but it’s new to me, so I’d like to share it with you.

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Meet the Facebook Funeral Livestream Scam.

Thieves take advantage of people in grief by offering a chance to watch a livestream video of the funeral of their deceased friend or family. You pay with your credit card — and then see nothing.

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Death. Funerals. Death.

Is nothing sacred?

Funeral scam

I learned the details in a “Lock and Code” podcast from Malwarebytes Labs.

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Malwarebytes is an American company that offers, in layman’s terms, software that removes trashy spams from your computer or other devices tied into the Internet. I’ve used the free version for years.

The company also educates consumers about the latest online traps to avoid.

Which brings us back to the funeral scam, and one way it was discovered.

Zach Hinkle, the social media manager for Malwarebytes, was at a funeral. When the service ended, he received an email inviting him to view the same service on a livestream.

He looked around. There was no camera setup. There was no livestream.

It didn’t take long for him to realize he’d stumbled into a scam.

“It’s horrific,” podcast host David Ruiz says. “It hijacks an extraordinarily important moment for everyone processing death. This is the gutter of the universe.”

How it works

Here’s how it works. Crooks learn about a coming funeral. They go to the deceased’ Facebook page and download profile photos and other information. Then they concoct a new fake page. The fake page asks the friends of the authentic page to join the new page for funeral info.

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There, the fake Facebook page invites the recipient to watch the livestream. They are asked for credit card information. They promise not to take any money from you. It’s to verify your location, crooks say.

In the tiniest text size possible, it says the credit card owner will pay $17 every two weeks. Voila!

Two other ways: 1) crooks create a fake “tribute page,” which alters a dead person’s status to deceased, and 2) crooks post a link to the scammer’s landing page as the first comment on a funeral home’s website. It looks official.

Crooks use a URL shortener to disguise the true address of their landing page.

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Once a victim pays, they go to the landing site, which has buttons to click: “Watch service here” and “Donate to the Family.”

Prey on emotions

Hinkle describes the emotions people feel in such a situation.

“I feel guilty. I feel bad that I can’t attend the service. But I can watch this funeral livestream, and I can experience the service and I can donate to the grieving family.”

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Hinkle alerted all his friends of the deceased and warned them not to fall for it. For those who missed the warning and fell for it, Hinkle says, grief quickly turns to anger.

I contacted Facebook several times but didn’t hear back.

Avoiding this scam

Martin Thompson, a longtime Fort Worth area funeral director, told me he has not heard of any incidents of the scam in North Texas.

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He said some funeral homes might charge $100 for a livestream as part of the package. But viewers would never face charges.

Watchdog tip: When in doubt contact the funeral director or the family.

Zach says if he wasn’t at the funeral, he never would have spotted this.

His advice: “Take a breath” before doing anything. “Assume you’re going to be scammed.”

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