As previously reported GFDA has been notified of various and continually evolving scams targeting the families served by multiple funeral homes across the state. This scam is not only impacting families in Georgia but nationwide.

Reports include unauthorized individuals contacting families, stating they are from the funeral home or insurance company, and requesting immediate payment to continue with the plans made.

Examples which have been shared with the GFDA office.

• Lost check and immediate payment is required.
  
• Requesting payment by credit card or cash app.
  
• Stating the family is due a refund and requesting bank or credit card information to issue the refund.
  
• Asking the family to participate in a survey about the recent funeral and awarding a gift card for their participation; however, a credit card is needed to verify identity.
  
• Using funeral home staff names.

Please note, scammers have the ability to make it appear calls are from your funeral home and phone number.

We once again strongly encourage you to inform the families you serve of your funeral home's policies/billing practices and remind them to not give any information to individuals contacting them for payments or refunds. Instead they should hang up and directly contact your funeral home, especially when asked for payment. We also encourage a statement on your funeral home’s website.

If your family has been impacted or has information about any contact of this nature, they should contact their local authorities to report the issue.

Should a Task Force be formed or other action taken in Georgia or nationally, we will share the information.

To report the incidents to the Federal Trade Commission, visit https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/

Here are tips from Federal Trade Commission you can share for spotting and avoiding this scam:

Resist the pressure to act immediately. Honest businesses will give you time to make a decision. Anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information is a scammer.

Contact the funeral home directly. Use a phone number that you know is real, not one you got from the scammer’s text, email, or phone call. If you don’t know it, you’ll find it on the General Price List you got from the funeral home.

Know how scammers tell you to pay. Scammers want to get your money immediately, and in a way that makes it hard to track them down and hard for you to get your money back. Never pay someone who insists you pay with a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a gift card. And never deposit a check and send money back to someone.