Four 'Funeral Scams' That Could Target You After a Family Member Dies

About 2.4 million funerals are held every year-and no matter how prepared you think you are, the loss of loved ones hits you hard, both emotionally and financially. The stress of making funeral arrangements after losing someone important to you is compounded by the dizzying array of choices you have to make about what to do next, and the cost, which averages as much as $8,300.

In the midst of all the emotional and financial upheaval, it's easy to let your guard down, and that's why scammers like to target the bereaved. You're devastated, exhausted, and trying to manage an avalanche of details as you set someone's affairs in order and prepare to let them go, leaving you vulnerable to criminals who see your loss as nothing more than an opportunity to take your money.

Here are four "funeral scams" to watch for when you're dealing with the loss of a loved one.

Imposter service providers

Some of the most common funeral scams are also the most basic: Impersonation. Scammers will contact you claiming to be someone else entirely in order to convince you to part with some of your cash. The most common variations of the impersonation scam include

• The funeral home. Scammers contact you, other members of your family, or even friends of the deceased and claim to be the funeral home, and demand money. They'll say that the bill wasn't paid or that other expenses have come up and the service or burial will be canceled unless you fork over more money immediately, often demanding you pay through an app like Zelle. Funeral homes don't operate like this-if you're not sure who's calling you or what you actually owe, hang up and contact the funeral home directly.

• The IRS. Sometimes scammers will contact the relatives of a deceased person by phone and claim that the recently departed owed back taxes. The scammer will insist that you are now responsible and must make an immediate payment to avoid penalties and fines. This can be an easy fraud to spot: The Internal Revenue Service will never contact you by phone-it will always reach out to you by mail.

• Life insurance. Scammers will sometimes call claiming to be the deceased person's insurance agent, informing you that they had missed their most recent premium payment, and that a big life insurance payout is possible if you bring the premiums current. This is simply a form of an inheritance scam, but since the death of a spouse or parent can leave people reeling financially, it can be quite effective.

Make sure the details of your loved one's death are reported to the appropriate government agencies, and remember: No legitimate debt needs to be paid over the phone immediately.

"Ghosting," or posthumous identity theft

Ghosting is a form of identity theft that targets the very recently deceased. Scammers attempt to glean personal and financial details about the person in order to steal their identity before the death can be reported to financial institutions and government agencies. They can then access the deceased's accounts to steal money, or use their identity to open up fraudulent lines of credit, which can impact the deceased's estate. It's a good idea to keep an eye on your loved one's accounts, credit cards, and other financial assets in the immediate aftermath of your loss.

Fake funeral livestreams

One of the more recent, complex, and horrifying funeral scams involves fake funeral livestreams. Yes, you read that correctly: Scammers scan death notices and then set up social media pages in loving memory" of the deceased, advertising a livestream of the funeral proceedings (usually with the correct time and date). Anyone who wants to participate is then asked for a payment for access-but of course, there is no actual livestream. Plus, these bereaved folks have handed their credit card info directly to scammers.

Your best defense against the livestream scam is to communicate clearly to anyone who may be interested in honoring the departed that there is no such event, and work with social media platforms to take down fake pages advertising one of them.

Fake obituaries

Finally, a scam that doesn't actually involve a death or an actual funeral, but rather fake deaths. Scammers look for people who have a large social media presence and create fake obituary pages for them, shocking their friends and family. They link these pages to ad platforms so they make money on every click and view-and since they've chosen someone with a large network of friends, family, and/or fans, they can rake in significant cash before the deception is discovered.

There's really no way to stop this from happening-there's simply too much personal information out there, so if you're a high traffic" name for any reason at all you could be targeted. Aside from the confusion and emotional stress these fake obituaries cause, there's usually no financial cost to the victim-so long as your job doesn't stop paying you because they think you're dead, of course.