ITV Emmerdale star Amy Walsh has issued an urgent warning to fans after her mum was targeted by fraudsters pretending to be her.

Sharing the message to her 162,000 followers on Instagram, the Bradford actress posted a screenshot of a text received by her mum from a scam artist urging her to click a link.

Posting on her Instagram story, she warned: “My mum just got sent this! Watch out for this scam!!!!!”

The message read: “Hi mum, I’m texting from a friend’s phone because I’ve lost mine and their phone’s about to die, so can you text message me when you see this?”

How to spot a scam

There are a number of ways that you can spot a scam or fake message. Things to look out for include:

  • Checking the ‘from’ address - is it from a company or organisation, or from a random email address? It should be worth noting that scammers often change their names to make the emails look like they’re from a legitimate company, but it’s always worth checking
  • Is the greeting impersonal? Royal Mail says that fraudsters “often use subjects or greetings that are impersonal and general”
  • Is there poor spelling, grammar or presentation? While scammers are getting better at making their messages look more professional, a more common thing to look out for it lack of consistency in the email, like different font styles or sizes, and mismatching logos

If you’re unsure about the message you’ve received in any way, you should always err on the side of caution.

Reach out to the company that is supposedly trying to communicate with you in a way that is completely separate from the message.

Don’t use any phone numbers, email address or linked websites. Instead, search for the company and use a different number or email address, from its website for example.