SCAM PHONE CALLS/EMAILS

In the last few years WFDA has shared with our members through numerous emails and Spotlight Express issues information regarding scams making the rounds to funeral homes here in Wisconsin as well as across the nation. 

THESE SCAMS ARE STILL CIRCULATING!

Additionally, new scams are always on the rise.  If you have not yet been a target for these scams, count yourself fortunate.  However, please educate yourself and fellow staff on how to appropriately identify and handle a scam should you or your firm become a target.   

Educate yourself!

If an American citizen has died overseas, you can contact the Overseas Citizens Office of the US State Department at (888) 407-4747 for assistance.  Remember when an American citizen dies overseas and remains are to be returned to the US, the nearest embassy or consulate must issue a certificate to accompany the casket.

Although there are a number of variations, the basic scenario has remained the same.  A relay operator contacts the funeral home, assisting someone with a phone call from overseas.  The caller says that their mother, father, brother, etc. has died and they need your assistance in bringing them home.  They want you to call a funeral home in Nigeria or the United Kingdom, always outside the United States, and send money via Western Union to the out of country funeral home.  They then try to give you a credit card to pay for the charges.  Variations have included contact through email and fax; however, the scheme is the same.

What can you do? 

WFDA cannot stress this statement enough; simply, DELETE and DO NOT RESPOND to ANY email and/or fax you receive that you feel is questionable.  Replying to this questionable correspondence only makes you more susceptible and targets you to continue receiving false claims in the future, as well as the potential for opening an attached computer virus and/or incurring long distance and international phone charges.

In addition, should you receive a relay call (operator assisted call) stemming from an INTERNATIONAL location, be persistent and ask that someone locally come in to make arrangements, otherwise simply HANG UP this is a scam.  The more information funeral directors request from these phone and email scam calls, the more authentic the scam correspondence is becoming.  These relay calls are used for the hearing impaired or in this case for those who do not want to have their call traced.

You should NEVER send any money even if they give you a credit card and tell you to charge the amount they ask you to send.  It is more than likely the credit card they are using has been stolen.  If you are given a credit card number, you should call and report this to the credit card company and local authorities, as the person whose card number was given may not even be aware of it being stolen.

Educate others!

Again, WFDA wanted to pass along this information and remind you to use your best judgment.  PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE with everyone in your firm and professional funeral community. 

Thank you.