All of us at Mueller Memorial want to offer this important heads-up for our Twin Cities families. Lately, we’ve heard about some unfortunate scams targeting folks during the already tough time surround the death of a family member or friend, and we want to make sure you’re aware and protected.

What Is This Funeral Scam

Scammers are using recent obituaries to contact families, pretending to be from funeral home staff. They claim you owe another $1,000 (or another amount) for funeral services, dropping the names of the person who died, the funeral home, and even specific funeral directors to seem credible.

Some families have caught on, hung up, and called their funeral provider directly to confirm everything was paid. Sadly, we’ve heard of others having been tricked into sending money to these scammers. This hasn’t happened yet to any family we’ve served, but it’s important that everyone is aware.

There’s another version where scammers ask for a “security deposit” of $1,500 (or more), threatening that if it’s not paid right away, the funeral can’t happen.

How to Stay Safe

We want to help you avoid these scams. Here are some tips from the FTC:

1. Don’t Rush - Mueller Memorial will never pressure you to act immediately. If someone’s pushing you to pay or share personal info right away, it’s likely a scam.
2. Contact Us Directly - If you get a sketchy call, hang up and call us using a number you know is legitimate – not one from the caller, even if our name comes up on the caller ID. The phone numbers for Mueller Memorial are 651-774-9797 or 651-429-4944 and those numbers can get you in contact with a funeral director any time.
3. Watch Out for Abnormal Payment Requests - Scammers often ask for payment via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards. Never pay this way, nor take direction over the phone or in person to deposit a check and send money back.

If You Need to Make a Payment Over the Phone

At Mueller Memorial, we keep our billing simple and straightforward. If we’ve called you and on that call you decide to pay part of your bill over the phone, before you supply your credit card number, let us know you’ll hang up and call us right back. (Again, our number is 651-774-9797.) If you do this we will not be offended and we will never try to pressure you to stay on the phone. We want your payment information to be secure. And whenever possible, pay your statement in person at one of our locations.

We’re Here For You

If you ever have doubts or questions, call us directly at 651-774-9797. We’re always here to help. Thank you for letting us be there for you during tough times. Stay safe and watch out for these scammers.

Take care,

The Mueller Memorial Team