A charity has issued a warning about ‘heartless’ scammers who are using the funeral of Oswaldtwistle’s Jay Slater to get followers and even monetary donations. Overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, which is acting as a spokesperson for the 19-year-old’s family, said it has been “inundated” with reports of scams. A number of accounts have surfaced offering access to a live stream of the funeral, which is set to take place on August 10, in return for likes, follows and even donations.
The funeral is not set to be live-streamed. LBT Global is asking anyone who sees these pages to report it. The charity said it has had some of the accounts removed but say it is “endless work”.
Chief executive Matthew Searle said the scams are “hurtful and deeply disrespectful”. He said: “We are inundated with reports of these scams, and as fast as we can get the platforms to remove them, more appear. “To be completely clear – there is no livestream of Jay’s funeral, and anyone claiming to offer one is a scam.
As much as being hurtful and deeply disrespectful, this is taking vital donations away from a small charity. “We ask that anyone seeing one of these pages reports it to the platform. Please don’t follow them or send them money.
It is so typical of the vile trolling this family has received for them to target something so special as a funeral. “The only donation page linked to the funeral, and for donations in memory of Jay, is at www.remembering-jay.
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