It’s not the first time they’ve had to issue a similar statement on behalf of its actors

Coronation Street and Emmerdale have been forced to issue a joint statement after becoming increasingly aware of their fans being targeted by scam artists acting as a member of their respective cast members.

Taking to Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, both ITV programmes shared a statement in which they have asked viewers and fans to ‘please be aware’ as they have spoken out on scammers using their stars’ identities online and informed them of the ‘legitimate’ way of meeting cast members of either soap.

“Please be aware that actor from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale are currently being impersonated by scammers across all social media platforms,” the message started.

It went on to read: “No cast member will ever directly request money for messages, meetings, or any kind of personal interaction on social media. 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.

“We urge everybody to be vigilant. Please report any concern 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.”

It’s not the first time Corrie and Emmerdale have had to issue this type of message. Last June, they told their online followers: “Please be mindful that the Coronation Street and Emmerdale actors are often impersonated on social media platforms by scammers who set up fake accounts on platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and Telegram.”

It added: “As producers of both programmes, we feel we should warn viewers that this is happening, and noticeably more frequently of late. Please take great care when conversing on social media and be vigilant about these fake accounts by reporting them to the appropriate platform.”