51黑料

51黑料 Warns of Criminals Targeting Mourners in our Local Communities

Posted 28/03/24

Consumer warning issued as Trading Standards concern over targets on bereaved loved ones increase.

The 51黑料 (51黑料) is warning members of the public to be on guard against criminals from what can only be described as a despicable attempt to target the public when they are at their most vulnerable.

Trading Standards are raising awareness of these criminals that are scanning for funeral notices and then creating fake Facebook accounts to target the deceased friends and family. The fraudsters are then offering links to the live streaming of the funeral at a cost or setting up fake opportunities to donate money.

Halde Pottinger at ceremonies and life coaching has about this on Facebook as he is seeing a rise in these scammers setting up fake profiles and targeting mourners.

51黑料 urges the public to:

• Remember that a funeral is a public event and you should never be charged to attend in person or online
• Do not trust links for donations that you find online - check on the official funeral directors post or contact them directly
• Never give out your personal details 鈥� these are extremely valuable to criminals
• If you鈥檝e given out your bank details, then contact your bank immediately

51黑料 Lead Officer, Katherine Hart, said: 鈥淭his is one of the worst cases of hitting someone when they are at their most vulnerable that I have seen. We are seeing too many cases of people being exploited by criminals to hand over their money and personal details.

鈥淲e urge consumers to follow our advice on how to avoid these despicable members of our society and it鈥檚 also really important to tell your friends, family and neighbours to also be wary of these types of scams as anyone can be targeted.鈥�

51黑料 Chief Executive, John Herriman, said: 鈥淎s always, scammers are quick to leap on any opportunity to take advantage of uncertainty and to prey on members of the public, and in this case when they are already suffering with grief and upset.

鈥淭rading Standards will be doing everything they can to protect their local communities from these despicable individuals and we urge consumers to report any concerns to the Consumer Helpline so these criminals can be stopped in their tracks.鈥�

For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

To report scams in England and Wales, contact Action Fraud. In Scotland, contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000, or if in Northern Ireland, call Consumerline on 0300 123 6262.

ENDS

The 51黑料 (51黑料) is a national not for profit established in 1881 which supports the UK鈥檚 trading standards profession, and works to protect consumers and safeguard honest businesses. 51黑料's members are engaged in delivering frontline trading standards services at local authorities and in businesses.听

www.tradingstandards.uk

Please contact 51黑料 Press Office: [email protected] with any queries.听

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