After friends discovered fake Facebook profiles using her likeness, BAFTA-winning actress Miriam Margolyes has made an urgent statement.
Miriam Margolyes released an urgent statement after friends made her aware of fake Facebook profiles using her likeness. The iconic Harry Potter star was the victim of several fraudsters using her name on Facebook in order to gain favour with followers, friends as well as charitable causes.
One of the allegedly phony accounts allegedly tried to extort money from a charity she supports by messaging them while pretending to be her. Because Miriam doesn’t pay to have her real account verified on the Mark Zuckerberg-owned website, the accounts have been reported to Meta, but no action has yet been taken.
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Miriam, 83, described the situation as “nothing but billionaires profiting from rogue fraudsters roaming free on social media platforms.”
She is also asking Meta’s management to support creatives and Facebook users by removing the accounts that have been reported without having to pay the site any more for their services.
My close friends have reported to me over the past few weeks that there is a fake profile of me on Facebook with over 35, 000 followers as well as a number of Facebook groups that purport to be about me.
Concerningly, this fake account has been messaging well-known friends and contacts of mine, as well as organizations I support. My friends and causes have been targeted by the account’s liars who have been trying to extort money. This is utterly outrageous to me.
“What’s more is that it appears that I only pay £9.99 per month to have my profile verified, which means Meta, the Facebook owners, will take any action.”
To me, this is also egregious. The billionaires who are being defrauded by fraudsters who profit from the reputations of actors, musicians, and creatives can benefit from this payment. This needs to be addressed urgently.
She continued, “I am well aware that these deep fake accounts, which only exist for the purpose of extorting money and reputation,” are not my only victims. People in all walks of life experience this every day, but our business is one of the hardest to see the impact.
“It’s fortunate that I have the opportunity to speak out against many of these dangerous fraudsters.” By removing and banning these accounts as soon as they are reported, without having to pay additional funds, I am asking Meta to support my fellow actors, musicians, creatives, as well as the Facebook community as a whole.
Without having extensive fake accounts to contend with, being an artist is difficult enough.
The Mirror have reached out to Meta for comment.
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Source: Mirror
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