Johnny Depp issues warning over 'deceptive' social media accounts

Johnny Depp has warned fans about an online scam in which people attempt to impersonate him.

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor took to his official Instagram page on Tuesday to wish his 28 million followers at Happy New Year.

However, Johnny then posted a lengthy statement in which he urged his fans not to interact with anyone who appears to be posing as him on social media.

"Sadly, it has been brought to my attention that online scammers are intensifying their efforts to target my fans and supporters. As part of their tactics, they create multiple, deceptive social media and email accounts impersonating me and members of my team," he wrote, noting Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology can be used to create the illusion of his face and voice. "Scammers may look and sound just like the real me. But, neither I, nor my team, will ask you for money or your personal information."

Johnny when on to insist that he and his team are working to "combat these illicit schemes".

He also begged fans to only follow his official accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and to steer clear of people using his name on chat-based platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, or Zangi.

"Again, neither myself, my team, my agent, nor my family will ever contact you on my behalf asking for money or your personal information," the 61-year-old added.

Back in 2022, Johnny was forced to post a similar warning following a rise in people pretending to be him online after his high-profile legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.