A group of stars from the Hallmark Channel warned viewers and fans to be wary of scams impersonating them ahead of the holiday season.
Hallmark regulars like Andrew Walker, Jonathan Bennett, Tyler Hynes, Tamera Mowry and more appeared in a video posted to the Hallmark Channel’s Instagram account on Oct. 8.
“We love our Hallmark family—and that means doing our part to raise awareness around scammers, some who are impersonating Hallmark stars. Learn how to spot the signs and protect yourself,” the caption of the post said.
Hynes started the video, with Nikki DeLoach and Mowry joining next, sharing that they love their fans and have an important message to share.
“There’s a growing industry-wide problem across social media,” Walker said.
BJ Britt said fake accounts have been impersonating actors, and Bennett added the accounts have been directly reaching out to fans. Paul Campbell finished the thought, saying that these accounts have been sending “misleading messages.”
The stars reminded their fans that they would never reach out for financial help, donations or to meet up in real life.
“If you receive a message like this, it’s a scam,” Hynes said.
Hynes had previously warned his fans about scammers in an Instagram post in August.
“Please, beware of scammers,” he said. “Please, never send anyone money. Please, look after the vulnerable. Please, use this to show others that who you THINK you are talking to is not me or other actors.”
Artificial intelligence has allowed scammers to manipulate real audio and images of a person into something fake, experts said, with TODAY’s Al Roker, Brad Pitt, Jamie Lee Curtis and more all having been targets of deepfakes this year.
Other celebrities, like “General Hospital” star Cameron Mathison, have made similar warnings. Mathison lost his home in the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year, and posted a video warning his followers against sending donations to pages that are impersonating him.
“Please do not donate to a GoFundMe page using my images, my face, my name,” he said in an Instagram post on Jan. 10. “We are not asking for money. Somebody is using the images and videos I posted to try to get money for themselves.”
Hallmark said in a statement to NBC News the company is committed to raising awareness and educating its audience about the social media risks that are so widespread and evolving.
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