Home and Away’s Ethan Brown issues urgent message over worrying scam trend: ‘It is not me’

It’s the second time the Home And Away star has had to issue a warning to fans.

Home And Away star Ethan Brown has urged his fans to “be smart” after discovering, once again, that his name and image are being used to scam people.

He had to issue a similar alert last year after discovering criminals were using him to lure in unsuspecting people.

Ethan, who has played Tane Parata on the Channel 7 soap since 2020, said the number of people still messaging him thinking he was talking to them on social media was “getting out of hand”.

“Just a friendly reminder, if you think you are in conversation with me on Telegram, Messenger or Instagram or whatever – you’re not,” he said.

“You are messaging a scammer. It is not me.”

He said he can’t control the number of scam profiles cropping up in his name, and urged people receiving the messages to simply not respond.

“Please, be smart on social media. Don’t think that I am talking to you privately, do not think we are in a relationship and do not send money to these people,” he said.

“Just a friendly reminder, please be wise, be smart on social media.”

While he didn’t elaborate too much on what the scams entailed, scammers have used the names and faces of high-profile Aussie celebrities in a variety of con jobs.

Some try to get into online relationships with their victims and convince them to send big sums of cash, while others are looking to steal their victims’ identities or sign them up to an investment platform.

Fans were stunned that Ethan had to put out yet another of these public service announcements, following one he had to do in 2024.

“None of these actors are in groups and definitely wouldn’t inbox you,” one Home and Away fan reminded fans of the show.

“Heartbreaking to see so many scammers out there,” another added.

“Not again!! Ethan must be fully over this by now. Poor guy,” a third said.

Sunrise’s Nat Barr issues scam warning to fans
Ethan is far from the first Channel 7 star to have to issue this warning, with Sunrise host Nat Barr delivering the same message on air last week.

Nat shared a message that a viewer named Sharon received.

The television star pointed out it wasn’t her social media name, and that there were a “few small differences”.

“I do chat with viewers online from my verified account, I love hearing your feedback about the show, your story ideas, your favourite interviews and, yes, even about what I’m wearing,” she told viewers.

“But these messages are different.”

Nat said she would “never contact someone out of the blue claiming I’ve been monitoring their profile”.

“I would never ask for money, investments, gift cards, bank details or personal information,” she said.

Other high-profile Aussies that have been used by scammers include Robert Irwin, Magda Szubanski, Hugh Jackman, Channel 9 newsreader Peter Overton, ex-Sunrise host David Koch, Richard Wilkins and Sonia Kruger.

It comes as the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission’s National Anti-Scam Centre reveals that in the first three months of 2026, it received 45,816 scam reports.