Obituary scam targeting grieving families, Decatur funeral home owner warns

DECATUR, Ga. - The owner of a metro Atlanta funeral home is sounding the alarm on fraudsters looking to pull a fast one on grieving families.

At A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home in Decatur, nearly half a dozen families preparing to lay loved ones to rest have been the targets of scammers in recent weeks. Funeral Home President Cy Hume says crooks are using obituaries posted online to find their victims.

What we know:

In the last three weeks, five families who had funeral arrangements prepared by A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home in Decatur were contacted by scammers posing as members of the staff.

Through phony phone calls with each family, the scammers would claim the family owes money for "casket insurance" and that not paying up could mean no celebration of life for their loved one.

Unfortunately, this sort of scam is nothing new. Several funeral homes around Georgia have reported similar occurrences to FOX 5 Atlanta:

• Douglas County funeral home warns grieving families about scammer
• Funeral scammers targeting Carrollton grieving families
• Beware of funeral home scams: Gwinnett County police investigate
• Someone is preying on grieving families in Cherokee County: ' Just the lowest of the low'

What they're saying:

"The families are so vulnerable because, let’s face it, someone just passed away. A loved one just passed away, and their emotions are high. They’re in the stages of grief," explained Funeral Home President Cy Hume. "They’re more than willing to give the money, because they want to make sure nothing happens to that service, and they’re devastated. They’re embarrassed, and they’re devastated."

"Yesterday, a family was asked for a $250 cash app," he recalled. "One recently I know of was $2,500."

Why you should care:

Because this type of scam feeds off of emotional vulnerability, it could very well happen to you or a loved one dealing with a tragedy.

It's important to learn the signs now to be able to identify a scam head on and be able to protect yourself in the case that you're targeted next.

What you can do:

To avoid financial loss on top of family loss, Hume is urging people to think twice before giving anyone money over the phone.

"Each funeral home should or most of them do have a payment policy," Hume explained. "You’re gonna sit down with the funeral director, you’re going to sign a goods and services contract."

Anything beyond that, he says, should be enough cause for concern and warrant a phone call to the funeral home for further questions.

Hume says it’s best to handle all the planning of a homegoing service in-person at the funeral home where arrangements have been made. He says it’s even more crucial that people take the time and effort to report these scams to the police.