Yahoo News Hairy Bikers team issue scam warning after Dave Myers' death
Fake profiles are apparently appearing on social media
Scammers are pretending to be Hairy Biker Si King to apparently con money out of people in the wake of his co-star Dave Myers' death.
Chef and TV star Myers died in February aged 66 after battling cancer, with his best friend King telling fans on Instagram: “I will miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime.” Just weeks later, the Hairy Bikers team has said fake profiles are popping up on social media, one with links to a place where people can pay a donation that is said to be in Myers' name.
Warning fans, they also accused Facebook owner Meta of a "lack of action" over the scams.
Posting on Facebook, they said: "Everyone at the Hairy Bikers Management Team is deeply saddened with the passing of Dave Myers. He will be deeply missed by all of us. However, we now urgently need your help!"
The message said: "Many of you have been emailing us pointing out that fake profiles are appearing on Facebook and Instagram, the latest one is of Si King. Our Team has been desperately trying to get Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram to remove these fake profiles for the past 2 weeks without success.
"Below is a screenshot of a fake page. You will notice that it doesn't have a 'Blue Tick' next to the name 'Si King'. There are instances where a 'post' has a link to a Bitcoin scam asking for donations to a cancer charity in the name of Dave Myers. Rest assured, this is not genuine in any shape or form."
The post said 1000 people had fallen for the fake profile and included details on how social media users could unfollow and report the page.
"To add to the confusion, the people behind the scam are copying posts that we are genuinely uploading to our own page," the Hairy Bikers team said. "If you all join in and report the fake, Facebook may wake up when they see some 600,000 reports in their inbox. #MarkZuckerberg take note!
"We gratefully appreciate your help and kindness. Help us drop this. It's not in the name of the Hairy Bikers. Shocking Meta's lack of action."
Myers announced in May 2022 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and that he would be undergoing chemotherapy. He managed to film another series with King, The Hairy Bikers: Go West, which has just aired.
But at the end of February, King posted a message on Instagram saying that Myers had “passed away peacefully at home” with his wife Lili, family and close friends by his side.
“Personally, I am not sure I can put into words on how I feel at the moment," he said. "My best friend is on a journey that for now, I can’t follow. I will miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime. I wish you god’s speed brother; you are and will remain a beacon in this world.
"See you on the other side. Love ya.”
Yahoo has contacted representatives for the Hairy Bikers and Facebook for comment.
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