Imagine this: you search for a loved one’s obituary online, only to find a flood of seemingly official memorials. But upon closer inspection, you realize something’s off.  This is the unsettling reality of AI-powered obituary scams, a scheme that exploits your grief and potentially puts your employer at risk.

Here’s how scammers are using artificial intelligence to churn out fake obituaries at an alarming rate. These phony tributes, designed to rank high in search results, target vulnerable mourners and use their grief as a gateway to their employers’ networks.

Witnessing the Scam Firsthand

Tony Adams, a security researcher at Secureworks, stumbled upon this scheme while searching for information about a deceased colleague. 

A friend group shared an obituary online, but it turned out to be fake, he recalls. This experience highlights how quickly these scams spread, preying on the natural urge to find details about a recent loss.

Filling the Information Gap

With the rapid flow of information today, there’s often a window between death and the publication of an official obituary. Scammers exploit this gap by using search engine manipulation techniques to get their fake tributes noticed.

Here’s how it works: they monitor search trends for keywords related to obituaries. Then, upon identifying a potential target, they leverage chatbots to quickly create fake memorials using publicly available information about the deceased. These phony obituaries are then distributed across a network of fake funeral and memorial websites.

In Adams’ colleague’s case, several seemingly unrelated websites displayed slightly different obituaries, all referencing details gleaned from a specific Facebook group the colleague belonged to.

Beyond Emotional Manipulation

Clicking on these fake obituaries can lead you down a rabbit hole of malicious websites.  You might encounter spam sites or be presented with fake CAPTCHAs. Clicking on these CAPTCHAs can trigger pop-up notifications with bogus virus alerts, tricking you into subscribing to unnecessary cybersecurity solutions.  Ironically, the scammer earns a commission through affiliate links embedded in the malicious URLs.

But the consequences can extend beyond emotional manipulation.  These same tactics can be used to spread malware, posing a threat to not only the grieving individual but also their employer’s network.

A Cause for Concern in Corporate Environments

Adams observed a disturbing trend: a surprising number of employees from the same company visited these fake obituary sites after a colleague’s passing. 

While he didn’t see any malware installed, this scheme can easily be adapted for more malicious purposes.

Search Engine Crackdown

Scammers often use relevant keywords to make their fake obituaries appear higher in search results. However, Google is taking steps to combat this.  

In early March, they announced changes aimed at eliminating low-quality, spammy content, specifically mentioning obituary scams.  While the details remain unclear, Google expects these efforts to significantly reduce the presence of such content in search results.

Searching for a colleague’s obituary now wouldn’t yield the same results. This is a positive step towards protecting people during a vulnerable time.