Reputable funeral homes in Windber, PA are here to help you in your time of need. People who work in the funeral industry often say that they feel called to work in a funeral home. They don’t do it to get rich, they do it to help people who need their support. When you lose a loved one, you are under a great deal of stress. That stress can happen both physically and emotionally. It’s hard to feel like you are losing someone you care about, but there are things you still need to keep your guard up about. While most people who work with funerals are reputable and have your interests at heart, others will use your vulnerability in this time and prey upon you while you are weak. Use these scam warnings from funeral homes to avoid falling into traps when you are already going through so much.

Warning 1: Never Reveal Too Much Info

Scammers like to watch the obituaries and see what information they can glean from the articles. If you place your loved one’s address in the obit, for example, along with the service time and place, those thieves know when there will be no one at your loved one’s house and they could break in when no one is anywhere around it. You can list the service times, but not your loved one’s address. If anyone wants to send a card, they can send it to the funeral home instead.

Warning 2: Watch Profiles

You won’t want to put too much personal information up online, either. Hackers can get quite a bit of information through social media outlets and they could steal your loved one’s identity before anyone notices. That could mean they access credit card or bank account information and start to rack up charges or drain out accounts before you are able to access the information through a will and benefit transfers. When your loved one dies, their identity is up for grabs to some people.

Warning 3: Cancel Items Right Away

It’s best to cancel as much as you can revolving around your loved one as soon as you can. Get their credit cards cancelled and their bank accounts frozen and so on. If anyone tries to access their information or use their name, it will alert creditors to the fraud and protect your family and your loved one’s identity.

These are just a few of the things that deplorable people try to do to use those who are suffering from a death in their family. Protect your own family against such scams by listening to advice from funeral homes in Windber, PA. The professionals at Simple Alternatives Funeral Home & Crematory have all sorts of good warnings for you that can help you get through your hard time intact. Visit us at 717 Main St Windber, PA 15963 to talk about more protective measures or call us to get started on final services at (814) 533-5832. We want to help you in any way we can.