Cybercriminals will go to great lengths to try to trick you and steal your information. In this scam, cybercriminals steal photos and personal details of recently deceased people from social media. The criminals use these photos and personal details to create convincing comments on Facebook. 

When an announcement is posted about the deceased person, the cybercriminals leave a comment. The comment says that the funeral is being streamed online and that you need to click a link to watch it. 

However, the funeral service isn’t actually being streamed online. If you click the link in the comment, you’ll be taken to a fake website that’s controlled by cybercriminals. 

The website includes instructions to enter your credit card information so you can supposedly watch the funeral. If you enter any information here, the cybercriminals will be able to see it immediately. You won’t actually be able to watch the funeral service online, but the cybercriminals will be able to charge your credit card.

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a fake funeral scam: 

Never donate money to an online fund unless you can verify it has been set up by an official source. 

If you’re experiencing a major loss, set your social media websites to private before posting details about the deceased person. This will make it more difficult for cybercriminals to steal personal photos and information.  

Always use caution when entering financial information online. Make sure that the website you’re visiting is legitimate. 

[Ed. note: Learn more about this and related Facebook scams at www.krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/scam-funeral-streaming-groups-thrive-on-facebook.]

—Pike County Area Agency on Aging newsletter