SPOKANE, Wash. – Scammers are targeting grieving families in Spokane using a variety of deceptive tactics.
Funeral director Andrew Adams, who has been in the industry for more than 20 years, shared insights into the scams.
Adams expressed his dismay at the situation, stating, “It’s really kind of the lowest denominator of person that they would try to hurt people that are already hurting. It’s, you know, I don’t know what else to say other than it’s monstrous.”
Fake obituaries circulating on the internet are one method scammers use to exploit families. These fake memorial pages are designed to mislead and potentially scam those who are already vulnerable.
Adams explained that newspapers often reach out to funeral homes to confirm obituaries because, in the past, people submitted fake obituaries as pranks.
“We have had families submit obituaries to like different states and different newspapers. The newspapers typically will reach out to us as a funeral home to confirm that that person has passed,” he said.
Scammers clone funeral home websites to deceive families further.
“They had gone to a different kind of like a clone site, had our same logo. They had all the same stuff on the website,” Adams shared.
Online donation platforms also pose risks.
Adams noted, “There’s fees associated with doing that. And then the other thing is, if it’s a friend that is taking that gofundme out on behalf of the family, then that person has control of those funds.”
Scammers even harvest details from obituaries to commit identity theft, a tactic known as “ghosting.”
Adams recounted, “I had somebody that was scammed when it comes to phone calls that they had received a phone call after the fact and they were wanting certain information.”
Criminals use dates, locations, and family names from obituaries to open credit accounts or file fake tax returns.
Adams mentioned an incident where someone received a suspicious call claiming to be from social security.
“And they called us and they said, you know, it seems weird that we get a phone, call it like 8:00 at night or something like that from Social Security. Like, yeah, that seems weird,” he said.
Even gravesites are not safe, with criminals stealing bronze headstones to sell for scrap metal.
“There’s been problems with headstones because they used to do a lot of headstones that were made out of bronze,” Adams said.
Families dealing with loss are often blindsided by fraud, fake bills, and emotional betrayal.
Adams emphasized, “When people come to the funeral home, it’s often the first time they’ve had to deal with a person’s loss and hopefully the last that they’re having to make these decisions. Their world is like upside down.”
As AI technology evolves, taking extra caution can help protect against these scams. For more information on avoiding funeral scams, visit AARP’s website.
