Funeral home scams affect grieving families, Coroner warns 

HOUSTON COUNTY — Scammers have reached a new low in today’s society, impersonating funeral homes and targeting grieving families who have recently lost loved ones. 

Houston County Coroner James Williams said this scam has reached Houston County over the past year. Williams has heard of at least a dozen scams of this type in the last six months to a year in Houston County. 

“We’ve had this problem and it has been around for a while as it’s nationwide,” he said. 

Recent cases revolve around a family getting a call from the scammer after making funeral arrangements. The scammer will then demand that money be paid by credit card to proceed with arrangements. 

“It’s heartbreaking because these families are already going through some of the toughest moments of their life in losing a loved one,” he said. “When these phone calls come in from these scammers, a lot of times the victims’ minds may not be in the right place, so they’re thinking the funeral home is trying to help them.” 

Williams thinks scammers go after grieving families because they see them as more vulnerable and easier to target. He urges the community to never give out any personal information, such as bank or credit card info, over the phone to anyone. 

“If there is a question, hang up and contact the funeral home these [scammers] are representing and verify who you’re talking to,” he said. “I can speak for all of the local funeral homes in our area that none of [them] conduct business like that where they call while you’re going through the process and demand money or credit card information by phone.” 

Williams said local funeral homes will always meet in person to discuss paying for funeral arrangements. He pointed out that all of the local funeral homes are aware of these scams and will disclose the information to families using their services.