ASB technology and operations executive general manager David Bullock explains how a common phishing scam works.
Video / Dean Purcell
Scammers have targeted those mourning the death of a former provincial rugby player, posting a fake link to a livestream of his funeral.
Former Thames Valley loose forward Myles MacDuff, who had motor neurone disease, died on Sunday and the married father-of-two’s funeral was held in Ngātea yesterdayafternoon.
But MacDuff’s widow Helen Casey-MacDuff was forced to warn the community of a scam set up to prey on those planning to watch a livestream of a celebration of the 47-year-old’s life.
“I’m so sorry but a scammer has created a fake funeral link for today”, she wrote in a post on the Facebook page of MacDuff’s local rugby club, Hauraki North.
“I have attached what it looks like. Unbelievable.”
A screenshot of the fake post to Facebook, shared as a warning by Myles MacDuff's widow, Helen Casey-MacDuff. Photo via Facebook
Casey-MacDuff told the Herald she has a message for the scammers: “How could you rob us of our time with Myles?
“This scam tainted Myles’ last hours at home with his family. I couldn’t support my children, as they prepared to say goodbye to their Dad ... for the last time. I cannot comprehend the mentality of these people, trying to profit from those who are potentially vulnerable in their grief. They took away from what should have been a precious time.”
Casey-MacDuff said her husband was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2021, aged 44.
“He bravely faced this horrific illness as it gradually took his ability to walk, his hands, his speech, his breath. But it didn’t take his awesome character and spirit, his loving will to support his family right up until his passing.
“He had many friends here and abroad, mainly due to his Rugby connections and many of them were relying on the livestream link to view his funeral.”
Myles MacDuff pictured at a Motor Neurone Disease Awareness Day at Hauraki North Rugby Club. Photo / Barts Rugby Photography via Facebook
Scammers are increasingly targeting the dead, counting on the grief and sympathy felt by family and friends to extort money.
Commonly based overseas, they usually target people who may not have been famous but were well known in their communities - schoolteachers, religious leaders, sportspeople, band leaders.
When promising Hawke’s Bay rugby player Caleb Baker was tragically killed in a car crash in February, his club was forced to issue a warning on its Facebook page after fake pages offered a link to his funeral service.
The same month, scammers set up fake Facebook pages and hoax livestream links to the funeral of South Auckland community leader and Green MP Fa’anānā Efeso Collins.
Hoax pages are a way of extracting money from unsuspecting mourners and members of the community. People are charged for a livestream that has been provided free by the family for friends and family who are unable to attend.
Netsafe has previously told the Herald that once victims of the scam had given their credit card or bank account details, scammers could use those to access larger amounts or, more commonly, set up smaller payments over a protracted period.
Netsafe recommended reporting funeral scams to the social media platform or Google - or asking Netsafe to assist.
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
