Home and Away forced to issue statement after wild claims about the soap's cast

 "Engage only with verified accounts."

Home and Away's Australian broadcaster Seven Network has responded after a slew of fake fan pages have popped up posting wild claims about the soap's cast, such as actors dying, being diagnosed with serious illnesses, or getting secretly married.

The 'article pages' are reportedly unsafe sites designed to phish users' personal information out of them, and should not be accessed.

A spokesperson for Seven has said "these unauthorised pages have been reported" and urged fans to "engage only with verified accounts for the show and cast members" (via Daily Telegraph Australia).

Home and Away is not the first soap to warn its fans about scams, as the British soaps have have had to put out warnings about fake accounts impersonating cast members and asking people for money.

"Please be aware that actors from both Coronation Street and Emmerdale are currently being impersonated by scammers across all social media platforms," a spokesperson for ITV said last year.

No cast member will ever directly request money for messages, meetings or any kind of personal interaction on social media."

The broadcaster specifically warned fans about videos using deepfake and AI technology to impersonate the actors and offer unofficial meet and greets or tours.

A similar statement from the BBC last year similarly said: "Please note that no cast member of EastEnders employee will ever make contact to request money for meeting, messages, set visits or any other interactions.

"If you have been contacted, especially on a social media platform via direct or mass message posted to a group, please ensure you report these instances to the relevant platform immediately."