There has been a lot of news coverage about the recent sudden death of the high-profile funeral for Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, the green MP.

This is not an article about the increase in unexpected deaths, but is about a different disturbing trend, that of 
‘Live Stream Funeral Scams’. 

These Scams are where ‘live streaming services’ ask for money to view a funeral live stream. Scammers create fake Facebook pages then send friend requests to families and friends of the deceased with links to the scam sites.

Users are asked for personal details including a credit card number to watch the live stream. 

“Sadly, many New Zealanders saw this scam with the recent high-profile funeral of Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, but were not aware it was a scam.

This is not an isolated incident, and we are also starting to see it with other families. 

We know many New Zealanders rely on these services when they can’t attend a funeral in person and for someone to take advantage of people in a time of grief is really disturbing. 
legitimate live streaming links are provided directly from the funeral home to the family and the costs associated with running the service are paid for by the family as part of the funeral.

The Kapiti Coast Funeral Home, in fact, doesn’t even charge our families for live streams if they are held in our main chapel or our crematorium chapel. The only time Live Streaming is charged is if we employ a live-streaming service when not at one of our venues.

In light of this, the warning signs of a live stream ‘SCAM’ are:
1. Facebook or other social media friend requests from people you don’t know.
2. A request to enter personal and credit card details in order to access a live stream. This is not required for legitimate live streams.
3. Pressure to act quickly to view. Typically, live stream recordings remain available for viewing even after they are live for at least 30 days.

All our live stream links, and the links to previously recorded services are securely available through our website www.kapiticoastfuneralhome.co.nz and are totally free to watch for 30 days.