THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE issued a consumer alert to Ohio families using cemetery and funeral services.
The department said scammers are using recent obituaries to find information about the deceased person’s family. They contact the family pretending to be a representative from the funeral home or cemetery to obtain their financial information.
Sarah Barickman, outreach director at Bauknecht-Altmeyer Funeral Home, said that she and the other staff at Bauknecht-Altmeyer Funeral Home are aware of the scams. She said the scammers use information from obituaries to look up phone numbers for the deceased’s family members. The scammers then go to the funeral home’s website to look up the names of the staff members. They use a staff member’s name when calling the family to ask for personal or financial information over the phone.
Barickman said that if a call sounds suspicious, people should hang up and call the funeral home’s main office and ask to talk to a funeral director or the staff member that they have been working with.
“It’s an awful scam that targets families when they’re most vulnerable after losing a loved one,” said Daphne Hawk, superintendent of the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, which registers more than 4,100 cemeteries. “We want Ohio cemeteries and funeral homes to be aware of this potential scam and let the families they serve know your process. We have resources on how to handle such scams and what to do if you understandably fall for one, too. All that information is in our alert.”
Based on media reports, the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing is aware of clients of at least one registered Ohio cemetery being affected by the scam.
If an incoming phone call sounds suspicious, the Department of Commerce encourages consumers to hang up and call the cemetery or funeral home directly for confirmation.
Jason Wilson, managing funeral director at Wilson Funeral Home, said that his business never asks for bank account information or Social Security numbers over the phone.
“We always ask for those things face-to-face. Whenever we need your financial information or personal information, we always ask that you stop by our office and give it to us in person. … Even if you’re from out of town or out of the area and are organizing a funeral for a loved one, I’ll tell you to hold on to your personal information and wait until you’re here for the service to give it to us,” he said.
Wilson said the funeral home has been serving the community for five generations.
“People know us, and we know people, and we hope that since people know us, they will trust us,” he said.
Wilson said there have been times in the past when scammers pretended to be a representative from Wilson Funeral Home.
“There was one incident where a person was buried 21 years earlier, and someone contacted the family saying that they were with Wilson Funeral Home and asked for personal information. The family called me to see why the funeral home was asking for their information 21 years later. Keep your information close,” he said.
Wilson said that he encourages people to stay alert even in times of grief.
“I tell people to have a neighbor watch their house during the service, just sit on the porch and keep an eye out because people will read obituaries, see when the service is and know that people aren’t going to be home during that time,” he said.
Wilson said that new technology can make it easier for scammers to find personal information online.
“It’s the time we live in. Protecting your information and data is important,” Wilson said.
“It’s pretty scary for families, but we want them to feel safe,” Barickman said.
Barickman said that Bauknecht-Altmeyer Funeral Home recently started using a new credit card system to increase security measures.
“All of the information is encrypted and secure. We don’t even have access to view it,” she said.
For more information about the scam, visit the Ohio Department of Commerce’s website at com.ohio.gov and search for “obituary scam.”
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