Scammers will use any method they can to part people from their money and that includes sinking to the depths of funeral and cemetery scams. One such scam – the prepaid funeral scam is big business in parts of America and an FBI bust of one such scammers ring revealed 97,000 people caught out and $450 million in funeral goods and services that were paid for in advance but never provided.
The Most Common Funeral Scams
- The Casket Scam
There will be a range of caskets available, from cheap to expensive.
Industry studies have shown the average casket shopper buys one of the first three casket models they are shown and usually the one that is in the middle price range.
The funeral directors know this and know no-one wants to be seen to be cheap at such a time, so they select carefully to ensure you get to see the bargain and the most expensive but concentrate on the one they expect you to buy – the mid-range model.
This means it is to the funeral director’s advantage to steer customers towards showroom models first.
There is always a price list you can ask to see before making a judgement.
- The Insurance Scam
Many people take out insurance to cover their own funeral or that of their family members.
The issue is where they ask you what the insurance covers and for how much then tailors their offering to take maximum benefit of the insurance payment.
- The Packaged Deal Scam
Most people will choose a standard package deal rather than working through all of the details of what’s involved with a funeral.
As with other industries you may find special offers, deals and other incentives to push you to a better package than you expected and the Marketing may be designed to make you believe you get a better deal by choosing a more expensive casket etc. than you wished.
Let’s hope you find a trustworthy and good value funeral director to help you at a time of need.
If you have any experiences with phishing scams do let me know, by email.
