Sick scammers use fake live-streams to cash in on funeral of Southport stabbing victim
22 August 2024, 11:08
The funeral of one of the Southport stabbing victims has been targeted by online scammers.
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Bebe King, 6, was laid to rest on Saturday in a private funeral in Southport, but the cyber unit at Merseyside Police have told LBC they were made aware of numerous accounts on Facebook offering fake live-streams in return for 'donations'.
Bebe's family had specifically asked for her funeral to be private.
Merseyside Police said: "To take advantage of such a tragic incident is appalling and we want to give people advice on how to avoid being scammed."
The funeral of Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, will take place in Southport tomorrow and police are urging people to be aware scammers will hijack the grief of others in order to make money.
A spokesperson said: "We are offering advice to people following reports that scammers have been setting up social media accounts to offer fake live streams of funerals in exchange for donations.
"Officers from our Cyber Unit are aware of a number of Facebook accounts that provided a fake link to a 'live stream' of Bebe King’s funeral on Saturday 17 August, along with a link to a donations page.
"We want to offer some advice and tips to social media users on how to avoid being duped by similar scams in the future, particularly ahead of Elsie Dot Stancombe’s funeral tomorrow, Friday 23 August.
"Detective Inspector Steve Frame said: “We are aware of social media accounts offering people the chance to view live streams of funerals in exchange for donations.
“Many frauds start by tricking people into entering their details into an apparently legitimate site. Take care when accessing websites, particularly those promoted by social media accounts – they may not be what they appear to be.
"Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email, text or social media post. Remember, email addresses and phone numbers can be spoofed, so don't use those as a means to verify that a message or call is authentic. The best way to get in touch with a company is to use a known email or phone number, such as the one on the back of your bank card.
"For more information on cyber crime and how to report it to Merseyside Police, you can visit the website: Cyber crime | Merseyside Police"
