Fans of Coronation Street and Emmerdale have been warned by soap bosses to be aware of scammers posing as their favourite stars in a bid to swindle fans out of cash
Fans of Coronation Street and Emmerdale have been targeted by scammers posing as stars of the soaps.
There are many sophisticated financial scams out there to be aware of, and people posing as celebrities has become a very common one. Recently a woman lost hundreds of thousands of pounds after falling for a fake Brad Pitt.
Soaps themselves, such as EastEnders, have written scam storylines into episodes. Walford resident Jean Slater fell victim to a cruel one last year.
Now Corrie and Emmerdale fans are being warned to be on their guard, after scammers have been posing as the much-loved cast of the long-running soaps. Soap bosses have been forced to issue a statement in an attempt to keep fans safe from being taken advantage of.
Scammers have been posing as stars from Coronation Street and Emmerdale – but fans can’t help but giggle at some fake messages from somebody posing as Rita
However, fans can’t help but have a laugh about it and one fan shared a screenshot of some messages on X, where it looked like Rita from Corrie (played by Barbara Knox) had reached out to ask for “£150” to spend in the soap’s canteen. The account is known for sharing jokes and memes so it could be a made up interaction, but fans are loving it anyway.
The post, made to look like a private message riddled with spelling mistakes, reads: “hi luv its Barbra Knox, you know? Rita from Corronation Street. I lost me card and can’t afford me lunch in the corrie canteen can you transfer me £150?”
It continues: “julie Goodyear aka bet is here as well”, before “Bet Lynch” adds: “Ay up cocker it’s me Bet.” Thousands of fans have shared the post and their delight at the attempt, while others share they have been contacted by scammers too.
Fans were in stitches after a meme account shared fake messages from Rita star Barbara Knox(Image: X)
“Both Pete Wicks & Giovani Pernice have messaged me, allegedly for liking their pages. Exactly same words, etc,” revealed one social media user. “Pity the scammers can’t spell ‘Coronation Street” replied one fan with the crying laughing emoji, as another added: “Obsessed! Why would Bet message off Barbara’s account?”
“I would fall hard for this” joked one. The post was shared quoting the urgent statement issued by show bosses in a bid to make fans aware of real scammers trying to swindle people out of money.
They wrote on social media: “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 continued: “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.”
They urged fans to take action and to “please report any concerns to the relevant platform.” The warning finished by saying: “The legitimate way of meeting with real members of the cast is via official ‘meet and greet’ events run by ITV Star Tours.”
