'In Memory Of' Charity Donation Scam

Many families request that, instead of flowers, mourners make a donation to a charity meaningful to the deceased — a genuine and common practice announced in obituaries, funeral programs, and memorial pages. The 'in memory of' charity donation scam exploits this practice in several ways: by fabricating an entire request and charity that was never authorized by the family, by using a real charity's name but a fraudulent donation link that redirects funds to the scammer, or by inventing a charity name similar to a well-known cause specifically to catch donors moved by the death notice.

Because this scam is closely tied to a specific, real death and often appears alongside genuine funeral information, it can be harder to distinguish from a legitimate request than a generic charity scam, particularly when shared through social media by people who assume a friend's repost is trustworthy.

Following a death that is publicized through an obituary, social media post, or funeral notice, a scammer creates or shares a message asking for donations 'in lieu of flowers' to a named cause, sometimes inventing the charity name entirely, sometimes using the name of a real charity but linking to a fraudulent donation page that mimics the real one.

The message is shared through social media, community groups, or email, often by people who are not the immediate family and who may not have verified the request themselves, relying instead on trust that the person who shared it first did the verification. Donors follow the link and enter payment details on a fake page designed to resemble the real charity's donation portal, or transfer money directly to an account that has no connection to the stated cause.

Because donors are moved by grief and the desire to honor the deceased, and because the request appears alongside seemingly legitimate funeral details, the fraudulent nature of the donation link or charity name is often not questioned until after payment.

A death notice combined with a specific charitable request creates a strong, time-limited emotional prompt to act quickly and show respect for the deceased, which discourages the kind of pause and independent verification a donor might otherwise apply to an unfamiliar charity request. Social sharing chains create a false sense of validation — each person assumes someone earlier in the chain checked the details, when in fact no one may have.

A local obituary requests donations 'in lieu of flowers' to a named cancer charity. A version of the notice shared on social media includes a donation link that leads to a page closely resembling the charity's real site but with a slightly different web address. Several mourners donate through this link before a family member notices the discrepancy and posts a correction, by which point a number of donations have already been misdirected.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to [charity name] in memory of [deceased name]: [link]

The family has asked that donations be made here instead of sending flowers: [fake link]

Please give generously to honor [deceased name]'s memory — every donation helps.

Before donating, confirm the request directly with the family or the funeral home handling arrangements, either of whom can confirm the actual charity named and whether a specific donation link was authorized. Independently navigate to the charity's official website by typing its name into a search engine or browser yourself, rather than clicking any link in the notice or social media post, and use the donation method found there.

If the charity name is unfamiliar, check it against your national charity register before donating anything, particularly for larger gifts.