BE VIGILANT
Coronation Street and Emmerdale issue urgent warning to fans as soap stars hit by scammers
Corrie tackled the dangers of deepfake in Abi Webster's recent storyline
CORONATION Street and Emmerdale bosses have issued an urgent warning to soap fans hit by scammers.
The soaps official Instagram page have shared a post revealing that fake accounts had been impersonating some actors for financial gain.
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They have urged fans to be vigilant if they are approached by one of these scammers, especially with the increase in AI technology, that can easily fool people into thinking they are speaking to an actor.
The important message read: "Please be aware that actors from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale are currently being impersonated by scammers across all social media platforms.
"No cast member will ever directly request money for messages, meetings or any kind of personal interaction on social media."
They have urged anyone contacted by a scammer to report it to the relevant platform.
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"We are aware these sophisticated impersonations can include deep-fake footage (where it appears to be the actor talking but isn't) and personal messages which seem to be realistic and in character," they continued.
"We urge everybody to be vigilant.
"Please report any concerns to the relevant platform
"The legitimate way of meeting with real members of the cast is via official 'meet and greet' events run by ITV Star Tours."
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Former Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh was one of the latest star's have been targeted.
Watch the grisly moment Anthony Fox in Emmerdale is murdered in cold blood - and another villager covers it up
She warned her fans of a fake Facebook profile pretending to be her.
Kym hit out at the scammers, telling them if they were going to pretend to be her, they could at least get their facts right.
While Coronation Street also explored the dangers of deepfake last year during a storyline with Abi Webster.
Abi (Sally Carman) was left horrified when her friend Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) revealed he’d been sent a revealing email featuring her in a sex video.
Former drug addict Abi feared her past was haunting her having admitted to blackouts before.
Unbeknownst to Abi, however, the sex tape was actually a nasty deepfake, made by Stefan Brent - the father of Corey Brent, who murdered Abi's son Seb.
A deepfake is a video in which a person’s face or body is digitally altered so they appear to be someone else.
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