Funeral directors warn of livestream scams targeting grieving families

North East funeral directors are warning the public about scammers creating fake livestream links of funeral services conning people out of money.

Offering a livestream service for a funeral has become a common way for family and friends to virtually attend the service of a loved one who has passed away if they are unable to attend in person.

However, recent reports suggest criminals have found a way to prey on vulnerable people hoping to view the livestream.

The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) has issued advice stating scammers are taking information from the internet and posting fake links posing as the livestream of a funeral.

Some tactics include the creation of fake social media profiles which send friend requests to those close to the deceased person, containing the fraudulent link to a supposed livestream asking for a donation.

Information on the NAFD website warns once people enter their personal and card details, they are in the hands of fraudsters "which can cause significant financial loss to the card holder".

There have been reports of incidents like this happening across the UK, but funeral directors in the North East are keen to warn the public of the dangers around scam links.

Rise in number of funeral service livestream scams

Mark Shaw of Mark Shaw Funeral Directors in Aberdeen has been in the business for 20 years and in the last year, he has seen a rise in the number of scams targeting grieving families.

He said: "We've had various occasions but not every funeral, fortunately.

"But across the board with many other funeral directors in the region - and not just in the North East of Scotland but across the country.

"So, it certainly accumulates to a large number."

Mark said one of the reasons people could be getting caught out is due to live streaming being a fairly new service and some people not being familiar with how the service would normally be shared.

He added: "The reality is, the way people are invited to join funeral streams and funeral online options is not through Facebook posts. That would be circulation by the family with a link to the relevant stream."

Sam Smith works for Brian Smith Funeral services in Banchory and explained the fraudsters are taking information direct from the company's death notices.

Sam said: "It looks like it's been set up by the family directly, so when they click into it it's got the link, the names, it's got all the information they have taken from the death notice so, it looks really believable - to start with anyway."

Sam explained they have even experienced being at a service and receiving text messages alerting them to a link and having to quickly inform the family.

He continued: "It's happening more and more. I mean, we've been at services when we've had texts come through on our phones or watches saying there is a link going up live.

"We've had to tell the families to maybe post something quickly to stop people falling for it and I know a number of times people have been in touch and they have been charged.

"The family have already got enough to think about on the day of the funeral and everything leading up to it without thinking about livestream links and being scammed for somebody watching a livestream of the funeral."

'Don't interact, don't share them, don't spread them'

Both Mark and Sam both stressed to report a link if it looks suspicious and not to accept friend requests from a profile offering a livestream.

Mark explained if anyone is in doubt about the legitimacy of a livestream link, to get in contact with the funeral director.

Mark continued: "Feel free to go back to the family, to the funeral director involved, even to the crematorium, any of the official channels where that funeral is being looked after and they will be quite happy to advise whether or not that is the relevant thing. But don't interact with them, don't share them, don't spread them and look of for the official information."

The advice issued on the NAFD website says: "Watching the livestream of a funeral service is free of charge – you should never be asked for payment. Any livestream or fundraising links will be provided by the funeral director to the bereaved family, so please always check any links or pages with the family or funeral director first – and never accept friend/page follow requests, or click links, without checking them out first.

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