Scammers target grieving families in new funeral home scheme, funeral director warns
Funeral-related scams are exploiting the grief and vulnerability of mourning families, according to Justin Smith, funeral director at Edwards Funeral Home. The scam, which has affected multiple North Carolina families in recent weeks, involves impostors posing as funeral directors and pressuring loved ones for last-minute payments ahead of services.
“They’re pulling names from online obituaries, Googling family contacts, and calling posing as us,” Smith told Neuse News. “They’re convincing because they know just enough to make it sound real — sometimes even mimicking my voice.”
One family in Greenville was recently targeted just hours after a private family viewing. The widow, already reeling from the sudden loss of her spouse in her early 60s, was approached by someone claiming to be Smith, demanding $1,000 for a supposed “liability insurance policy” — a non-existent requirement, Smith clarified.
“They told her it had to be paid that night or the funeral couldn’t go forward,” Smith said. “They pushed her to buy a Green Dot card from Dollar General and load it with cash.”
While one family member who used a bank card was able to reverse the charge the next day, the widow’s $400 cash transfer via the prepaid card was unrecoverable.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, imposter scams are the most common type of fraud in the U.S., costing Americans nearly $2.7 billion in 2023. A growing concern within this category is scams targeting the bereaved by harvesting obituary details posted online by families or funeral homes.
In North Carolina, the scam has become so widespread that professional networks like the North Carolina Funeral Directors Association have issued alerts. At least two funeral homes in Pitt County have reported similar fraudulent calls to their clients, with scammers claiming families were owed refunds or needed to settle balances urgently.
“We’re doing everything we can to warn people,” Smith said. “I’ve started telling families during our initial meetings — if anyone calls and asks for money, hang up and call us directly.”
What makes this scam particularly dangerous is the timing and emotional manipulation. Families are often caught off-guard during one of the most emotionally vulnerable times in their lives.
“You’re walking in to view your wife and someone’s telling you the funeral might not happen without immediate payment,” Smith said. “It’s cruel. It adds trauma on top of grief.”
While no arrests have yet been made, Smith says the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office has issued a public alert and is monitoring the situation. Victims are encouraged to report any suspicious calls to local authorities and avoid making any payments over the phone.
“Whether you’re using Edwards or any other funeral home, we want people to know this scam is out there,” Smith said. “If it saves one family from being preyed on, it’s worth getting the word out.”
How to Protect Yourself:
Never give payment over the phone unless you initiated the call and verified the number directly with the funeral home.
Watch for urgency — scammers often pressure victims to act quickly or late at night.
Report suspicious activity to the local sheriff’s office or the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Neuse News is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to provide free, hyper-local news to Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties. The kind of news our grandparents read in a format fit for today's times.
We provide this by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
