The federal government has called out an “abhorrent” online scam targeting the funeral of Labor MP Peta Murphy last week, with fraudsters creating numerous Facebook pages purporting to offer a live stream of the memorial service.
The pages, which were swiftly removed once brought to the attention of Facebook’s parent company Meta, appear to have targeted Murphy’s friends and supporters. At least nine separate pages were created, posing as an official way to watch a stream of her funeral but instead sending viewers to a fraudulent website asking for bank details, in the latest example of a worrying trend online.
“This just shows these people are the lowest of the low and have no boundaries in the heinous acts they undertake to steal people’s money,” said the assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones.
Murphy, the Member for Dunkley, was farewelled at a service in Frankston on Friday, after her death two weeks ago from breast cancer. The death of the popular MP, aged just 50, prompted an outpouring of grief in federal parliament, with politicians returning to Canberra a day early to speak on a condolence motion in the House of Representatives.
Murphy’s office shared a link online for followers to watch a live stream of the service, but the memorial was marred as numerous Facebook pages posed as avenues to see the service.
The unofficial pages each directed followers to a different video streaming platform, not the official live stream page offered by the funeral company that Murphy’s own office had shared. The video player on the websites included photos of Murphy, as well as a graphic shared by her office advising of the details of the service.
Viewers were directed to set up an account on the website, which later requested a subscription payment.
“The Office is aware that there are accounts impersonating Peta’s funeral and has escalated these reports,” Murphy’s office posted on her official Facebook page on Friday.
“Please note to view the funeral livestream you will never be asked to provide card details.”
Guardian Australia saw at least nine separate Facebook pages, bearing titles including “Peta Murphy MP Funeral Service Livestream” and some with more than 1000 followers or friends, that had been set up as of Friday afternoon.
Meta said it removed the pages as soon as they were reported. As of Friday evening, the pages earlier identified had been deleted.
“We are deeply sorry to Ms Murphy’s family and friends for any hurt caused by scammers,” a Meta spokesperson said.
It appears the pages may have sought to add people who followed or interacted with Murphy’s Facebook page. On a post from her page about the funeral, one follower commented: “Can everyone please report the scam page mentioned above. It’s named after the livestream for peta [sic] this afternoon.”
Another person replied: “I just had a ‘Friend Request’ for Peta Murphy MP Funeral.”
A further follower wrote: “Its already got more than 30 friends and people who are unaware will put in card details.”
Guardian Australia is aware of other funerals offering a livestreaming option being targeted in a similar way by scam pages.
after newsletter promotion
Jones, whose ministry responsibilities include scam prevention, was scathing of the situation.
“These scams are completely abhorrent,” he told Guardian Australia, saying his office had contacted Meta about the incident.
Meta’s statement said fraudsters were “constantly finding new ways to deceive people”, with the company removing some 827 million fake accounts globally in the third quarter of 2023. The spokesperson said the company used machine learning and trained staff to identify accounts breaching its policies, and in Australia was working with the National Anti-Scam Centre and other industry bodies to address fraud activity.
Regarding instances of the scams targeting funerals, Meta has released warnings to users advising that it was unlikely anyone would charge for access to a memorial service, and recommended people be especially wary of pages that look as though they’ve been newly set up or are incomplete and missing basic information.
Meta has taken action against a number of other recent sophisticated scams running on Facebook, including a deepfake A Current Affair video featuring altered versions of Jim Chalmers, Dick Smith, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart. It is the latest iteration of the celebrity scam investment ads that have plagued social media sites and Google’s AdWords for years.
Meta is facing two lawsuits over the celebrity investment scam ads – a criminal case brought by Forrest in Western Australia and a civil case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Speaking at Murphy’s service, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, described her as a “happy warrior”, praising her “extraordinary combination of intellect, integrity and empathy”.
“There are some members of parliament whose contribution earns the grudging respect of the chamber. There are others – rarer still – who win genuine admiration and real affection across the political spectrum,” he said.
“Peta Murphy was one of those.”
“We will keep the glow of Peta Murphy in our hearts. We will hold her inspiration and example in our minds. She will be a cherished member of our family, for ever.”