Beware of Cremation Jewelry Scams Like This One

A scam involving cremation jewelry that has been making the rounds for several years has resurfaced. 

A few of our clients have been dealing with this issue recently, so we wanted to be sure you have the information to protect your firm. 

Here’s what happens: 

1. Someone calls the funeral home and orders thousands of dollars of cremation jewelry using a fraudulent card. The cremation jewelry is then sent to the scammer. 
2. The actual cardholder reports the transaction as “fraudulent” to their credit card company, as they did not place the order. 
3. The funeral home or crematory then gets hit with a chargeback, which hurts the firm – in addition to hurting the cardholder. 

A few years ago, NFDA published a news release on this topic, and we’re sharing some of their tips here: 

• Be suspicious if the caller orders several pieces of the same merchandise. 
• Warning sign: The person wants the merchandise shipped to an international address, with multiple pieces of merchandise all going to the same address. 
• Be careful about accepting credit card payments, especially if it is from a consumer, via email, fax, or telephone (especially to an overseas address). 
• Make sure to share reminders about the potential for scams like these with all employees at your firm, including your answering service (if applicable). 



We hope this is a helpful resource for your firm. We are always here to help our clients however we can, including sharing details about scams like these.