A Donegal undertaker has become the latest victim of an online scam after fraudsters began copying details of live funeral streams to demand credit card details.
The hackers are bombarding Facebook pages belonging to funeral directors showing live-streams of funeral services.
They then then duplicate notices of obituaries and livestreams and then ask unsuspecting viewers for credit card details to watch the services.
Donegal undertaker Kieran Roarty from Bunbeg has now warned people never to give credit card details out for such live-streaming services.
When a church cannot run a live streaming service of a funeral, Mr Roarty uses his own cameras and livestreams the service for people to tune into from around the globe.
He then livestreams the funeral services for grieving families so that relatives from other parts of Ireland or around the globe can attend remotely.
But now he has revealed that a number of funeral directors offering the same services have been hit by hackers looking to cash in on mourners.
He described the illegal practise as “an absolute disgrace”.
He said his office has been contacted by a number of people who have encountered the hackers trying to get them to pass on their credit card details to continue watching funerals.
He explained how hackers even copied the pictures and details of the original obituary for the deceased person but change the streaming link and then try to charge them.
He said “I am pleading with people that if these details are not directly on the funeral director’s page or on other legitimate sites such as rip.ie then I would ask them not to click into the link.
“A lot of people are vulnerable at this time and they could be caught out by this.
“We have already received reports of it locally and up the country in other parts of Ireland.”
He admitted that it is almost impossible to apprehend those behind the scam saying those organising it “could be anywhere on the globe.”
He added “It’s just another scam out there trying to cash in on other people but to prey on people when they are vulnerable after losing a loved one is just the lowest of the low.”
