As well as targeting young people near the start of their lives, fraudsters have been stepping up their attempts to trick the friends and family of people who have died. Criminals exploit the grief of bereaved families by impersonating them online and charging mourners to see funeral livestreams that should be free, according to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) which supports businesses and local authorities' trading standards officers. These livestreams became more popular during lockdown, and have continued since for those who struggle to attend a funeral in person. Fraudsters contact mourners with bogus links to watch a funeral and demand payment, or set up fake donation pages on legitimate websites. Katherine Hart, CTSI lead officer for doorstep crime, said: "This is a truly despicable scam – targeting people during one of the most emotionally difficult moments of their lives. "It's hard to imagine a more callous form of fraud.

A grandmother was able to answer questions at her own funeral last month with the help of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered "holographic" video technology. Holocaust educator Marina Smith passed away in June at the age of 87. However, an AI tool called StoryFile, built by her son's firm, meant those attending her funeral could watch her respond to their questions about her life, reports The Telegraph. Prior to her death, Smith had previously recorded hours' worth of details about her life, many of which were unknown to mourners. By using 20 synchronous cameras to film her answering a series of questions, StoryFile was able to create a digital clone of Smith.

A deceased woman has been able to talk to mourners at her own funeral thanks to new AI-powered'holographic' video technology. Marina Smith MBE, who passed away in June at the age of 87, was able to appear as a hologram at a service shortly after her cremation in Babworth, Nottingham on July 29. Mrs Smith, a Holocaust educator, gave a brief speech about her life and spirituality and responded to questions from family members attending the ceremony. The technology, available in the UK from this week, was created by her son Dr Stephen Smith, co-founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based AI company StoryFile. Dr Smith said the hologram'shocked' mourners and answered questions with'new details and honesty'.

The idea of conversing with mourners at your own funeral may sound like the plot from the latest episode of Black Mirror. But it could become a reality, thanks to a Los Angeles-based startup, which has developed a'holographic conversational vido experience'. StoryFile creates a digital clone of the subject by using 20 synchronised cameras to record them answering a series of questions. Experts then process the footage, tagging clips and using it to train an artificial intelligence (AI) that can provide responses to these questions in natural language. The finished product is then uploaded to the StoryFile platform, which can be interacted with after the individual has passed away.

For anyone who has ever suffered a loss, Microsoft could have an incredible solution -- but it's a controversial one. The US Department of Commerce recently granted the tech giant a patent permitting the manufacture of a chatbot based on a deceased person's information, including "images, voice data, social media posts [and] electronic messages." If Microsoft goes ahead with the idea, it would create AI versions of humans, possibly accompanied by digital representations of their face or body. We already have access to the technology needed to make this happen. And we've seen AI used to bring the dead back to life before, in both sci-fi and reality.