Fraudsters abuse funeral notices online, demanding €20–50
A new fraud targeting the bereaved is spreading in Slovakia – fraudsters pose as a funeral service and demand additional payments. A funeral home owner from Orava has warned of the scam.
Fraudsters impersonate funeral service and rob the bereaved
Fraudsters in Slovakia are targeting families of the deceased and, under the pretence of an outstanding debt for funeral services, are pressuring them to pay a small sum. A funeral home owner from Orava has drawn attention to this new type of fraud, as reported by the my.sme.sk portal.
Pavol Herud, owner of a funeral home, described the typical procedure used by the perpetrators. They first contact the family of the deceased by telephone and introduce themselves as representatives of the funeral service that arranged the final farewell. They claim that an error occurred in the billing and demand payment of a small sum. They then send an SMS message with a bank account number.
"They say they're from the funeral service and people automatically assume it's the one that actually conducted the farewell," Herud said.
Fraudsters do not demand large sums – usually between 20 and 50 euros. They rely on the fact that the bereaved, in their time of grief, will not scrutinise the details for the sake of a few dozen euros and will prefer to pay the amount quickly. At the same time, they assume that the family will not report such a small amount to the police later.
Fraudsters obtain information about the deceased and their families from the internet – specifically from funeral notices published online.
"As a person who has worked with the bereaved my entire life, I find this disgusting," said Herud. "Using the pain, grief and helplessness of families in the most difficult moments of their lives is absolutely deplorable."
Source: Google News SK — Crime (sk)