It didnât take Brian Triano long to figure out the guy on the other end of the line was likely a scammer.
Triano, vice president of Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery, said the caller was asking for private information about a recent funeral. She claimed she was helping a local family obtain federal burial assistance available when the deceased died of COVID-19.
But Triano knew the program doesnât work that way.
Federal aid
Congress approved two virus relief bills this year that provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020. The COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program is operated by FEMA.
COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program Available to All Illinois Residents enewspf.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from enewspf.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) announced today that three additional FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams arrived in
Scam Artists Reach a New Low With Despicable Funeral Deception
To quote Jed Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies, these people are lower than a snake s belly in a wagon rut. Fleecing people out of their hard-earned money using the Federal Emergency Management Agency s (FEMA) COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program.
Part of the Federal Government s Coronavirus Relief and Rescue packages, was the Funeral Assistance Program. It provided financial assistance to help offset expensive funeral arrangements to families who lost a loved one from COVID-19. Heartless scammers are using the program to trick grieving family members and steal their personal information.
The scammer, pretending to be with FEMA or another agency, sends an email, text message, or phone call claiming you qualify for financial assistance from the program. To begin the process of collecting funds you ll need to register the deceased person s information. As usual, this is where they try to get names, birth dates,