Funeral Bureau Warns of New Funeral Scam

The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau has recently issued an alert for consumers to beware of a new funeral scam. The ruse features scammers who call newly bereaved people, preying on their fresh grief. This new trend is not only criminal, but it is incredibly disturbing as the scheme targets those who are in the throes of sadness and may not be on the lookout for scammers.

The thieves call those in mourning, posing as funeral or cemetery employees. They ask the bereaved lots of questions about the deceased, including their Medicare details. To make their ploy more difficult to spot, these scammers may “spoof” the phone numbers of legitimate funeral homes. This detail may easily trick unsuspecting consumers.

In April 2023, one scammer targeted a woman in La Mesa, California. Jennifer Lothspeich had lost her husband the month before and was left to care for their two-year-old son by herself. Lothspeich told CBS, “Even with all the words I have, there’s no way I could put words together to explain who he was.”

Just days after her husband died, Lothspeich received a call from what appeared to be the funeral home. The caller told her that she owed $49.90. He said the fee was for insurance in case anyone got hurt at the mortuary. The man told her not to come to the funeral home and that she could not pay cash. He repeatedly asked for her credit card information.

When Lotspeich refused to pay and got off the phone, the scammer called back again, saying that their funeral home would refuse her service since she was so rude. In a panic, the widow questioned if her husband’s body was safe. Thankfully, after speaking with the real funeral home employees, she realized it was a scam.

Thinking over the ordeal, she says, “Somebody was willing to take this horror show and make it worse, which is unbelievable.” Lothspeich believes the scammer collected information about her husband’s recent death from social media and used it to prey on her state of deep mourning.

The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau has some tips to safeguard you from future scams:

• Refuse payment. Never disclose banking or credit card numbers without first taking steps to verify that the person requesting the information has a legitimate need for it.
• Never disclose personal information to the caller such as Social Security numbers or date of birth.
• Take down the caller’s information (including name, title, phone number, and email address), let them know you will follow-up directly with the funeral home/business, and end the call.
• You may also consider ending the call without explanation if it appears suspicious or to be a scam.
• Consumers are reminded to not disclose any personal information, i.e. social security numbers, dates of births, or credit/debit card numbers, without first taking steps to verify the identity of the person requesting the information, and that they have a legitimate need for it.

You can always contact your local law enforcement if you believe you’ve been a target of a funeral scam. Be sure to tell them the number the scammer called from and any other identifying information. In these types of cases, it’s best to call the funeral home yourself to confirm any charges or ask questions.