TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW WITH MARLA SOMMERS, 19 January 2023

Subjects: Funeral scamming

E&OE 

STARTS: 12:13pm

ENDS: 12:17pm

MICHAEL McCORMACK:

No funeral firm would ever ask people to pay for a live stream and no funeral firm around here is going along with what these perpetrators are trying to do to vulnerable people. What we are seeing is people being preyed upon – often by foreign entities who are scamming them, who are trying to get their money by paying for a live stream, trying to get their money by saying “give donations to the bereaved family”. A funeral firm in the Riverina and Central West would ever put forward these Facebook scams, these are put up by people trying to steal your money. If people think something is wrong report it to Scamwatch.gov.au. Indeed, ask the funeral home if this is legitimate, many of scams look right, they look legitimate, but they are not. They are people trying to take your money so be very wary. People asking you for your money for a livestream or funeral service are trying to rip you off. Go to scamwatch.com.au and report them, go to Facebook, and report them because they need reporting, they need the full force of the law coming down against them and this has to stop. People who are so vulnerable who are mourning their loved ones do not need this, and we have seen a couple of people who were great community citizens – Ray ‘Dossie’ Carr at Tumut, Bruce Baker at Wyalong indeed he was a Councillor at Bland Shire. Their funerals have been targeted by these scammers, it is so upsetting for the bereaved families and to think people would do this is just lower than the low.

MARLA SOMMERS:

In regard to Orange, do you know if any people have been scammed there yet?

MICHAEL McCORMACK:

This is happening right across the country, it is not just the Central West of NSW, it is not just Orange it is right across the country. We have very respected funeral homes who would never do this. They wouldn’t do it in Orange, and they wouldn’t do it anywhere in the country but people are being asked to pay for livestreams for funeral services they are being asked to donate allegedly to the families who are burying loved ones and this is simply not good enough. Quite frankly, if people are caught, if they are convicted the NSW Government needs to pass even stronger and more stringent laws to make sure that the convictions are even harsher for these people who are perpetrating these acts.

Emma Sullivan