Mother left heartbroken after 'disgusting' scammers target her baby's funeral

Infant's coffin (stock)/Scammer (stock)

Chloe Goode learnt of the scam whilst attending her deceased child's funeral (not pictured)

Getty
Holly Bishop

By Holly Bishop


Published: 09/04/2024

- 14:12

Updated: 09/04/2024

- 14:27

Chloe Goode learnt of the ploy whilst attending her deceased child's memorial service

A mother was left heartbroken when she realised that her baby’s funeral was being used to scam mourners.

Chloe Goode was attending the memorial service of her deceased daughter Amanda-Leigh when she discovered the sickening ploy.


Fraudsters had created a fake Facebook post with a link to the apparent memorial service of Amanda-Leigh.

One mourner, who had been unable to attend the funeral, was shocked to discover £113 gone from their account after clicking on the link.

Facebook post of the fake link

The Facebook post has since been deleted

Facebook

The post has since been removed by Facebook.

Goode slammed the scammers as “absolutely disgusting” and was appalled that they used her deceased daughter’s image in the ploy.

She said that she was unaware of the scam until funeral-goers came up to her at the service and told her that they had money missing from their accounts.

Born on February 17, infant Amanda-Leigh died just three weeks later.

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To cover funeral costs, a fundraising page was set up to cover funeral costs.

Over £3,000 was raised, which meant the three-week-old was able to have her coffin transported by horse and carriage.

“They'll know this is a baby's funeral, they'll know people will want to watch it,” Goode told BBC.

“I was horrified and shocked when I knew it was a scam - why, why would you do this?”

All three mourners who lost money due to the scam have since been able to get it back.

Person on laptop

One mourner was shocked to discover £113 gone from their account after clicking on the link

PA

A spokesperson for Wirral Wings, a company which makes clothing for stillborn babies, said: “The trauma this has caused has been immeasurable, and there are no words to describe the people who are responsible.”

A Meta spokesperson said: “We don't allow fraudulent activity on our platforms and have removed the content brought to our attention.

“We are continually investing in protections against fraud for people who use our platforms and work closely with law enforcement to support investigations.

“We encourage our community to report activity like this to us and the police, so we can take action.”

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