- Funeral home operator warns of fraud on Facebook
The operator of several cemeteries in Rhineland-Palatinate warns of scammers targeting grieving people on their Facebook pages. Grieving individuals are often in a vulnerable phase of life and have become a target for "romance scammers," according to the German Cemetery Association, which operates 14 cemeteries in Germany. The Rhein-Taunus Crematorium is also part of this company.
"These scammers try to gain the trust of their victims on Facebook in order to exploit them financially," said Managing Director Judith Könsgen. The social media team has noticed an increase in suspicious comments in recent weeks, often directed at older women.
"Behind these seemingly innocent messages lies a cunning strategy: the scammers try to build trust through repeated contact attempts, and then ask for money," says Könsgen. Suspicious comments are deleted and profiles are reported, but Könsgen wishes for more support and quicker reactions from Facebook.
Despite the efforts to delete suspicious comments and report scammer profiles, the number of such incidents has been rising at the cemetery's Facebook pages. These deceitful individuals often use tender messages as a cover to eventually request money at the cemetery's digital grounds, turning a place of mourning into a site of financial exploitation.
