![Scammers targeting people seeing federal funeral assistance, FEMA warns](https://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2016/06/21/cb690f5b-24c1-44e2-9d36-5c62b3f7b63c/thumbnail/1200x630/29ff1379ce40568b5df9323bab57ab88/tragedy-candles.jpg)
Scammers targeting people seeing federal funeral assistance, FEMA warns
CBSN
Even before a U.S. government program offering financial help to bury people who died of COVID-19, scam artists were on the prowl, offering would-be applicants help in registering for up to $9,000 from Uncle Sam.
Fraudsters looking to steal personal data have been targeting potential applicants, offering to register them for the program, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "We have received reports of scammers reaching out to people offering to register them for funeral assistance. FEMA has not sent any such notifications and we do not contact people before they register for assistance," the agency noted in a fraud alert.![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250214202746.jpg)
Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a high-stakes meeting at this year's Munich Security conference to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Vance said the U.S. seeks a "durable" peace, while Zelenskyy expressed the desire for extensive discussions to prepare for any end to the conflict.
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Washington — The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation's largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who hadn't yet gained civil service protection - potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
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It was Labor Day weekend 2003 when Matt Scribner, a local horse farrier and trainer who also competes in long-distance horse races, was on his usual ride in a remote part of the Sierra Nevada foothills — just a few miles northeast of Auburn, California —when he noticed a freshly dug hole along the trail that piqued his curiosity.