The 20th anniversary series of Strictly has begun as 15 new celebrities took to the dance floor for the first time with their professional dancers.
However there is one contestant for whom life in the public eye isn’t easy as they revealed they have been plagued by multiple identity scammers.
Dr Punam Krishan, who is best known as a TV doctor from the BBC’s Morning Live, fell victim to scammers online who use her photo in fake accounts spreading false information.
Opening up about the turmoil it has caused her in her column with the iPaper back in April, Dr Punam admitted: ‘Barely a day goes by before I receive a message from a follower on social media informing me of a fake account using my images to spam them.’
The Glaswegian GP confessed she was ‘deeply concerned’ by the rise of ‘deepfake’ AI generated videos which allow scammers a more sophisticated means to manipulate videos and audio in a way that replicates real life.
‘This is what happened when my photo was used in a scam’: Strictly contestant Dr Punam Krishan has revealed how she fell victim to online scammers as she confessed ‘deep concerns’ in rise of ‘deepfakes’
The GP, who is best known as a TV doctor from the BBC’s Morning Live, became victim to scammers online using her photo in fake accounts spreading false information
Expressing her concerns, Dr Punam explained she chooses to work in the media in order to challenge health misinformation that often circulates online and to help provide accessible information to the public.
She wrote: ‘It is distressing to hear from followers who have received messages from fake accounts pretending to be me.’
The doctor revealed that scammers often take pictures from her social media account, some of which even include snaps of her family with misinformation in the captions.
The scammers, pretending to be Dr Punam, will then ask victims for money for medical research or for charities claiming to raise funds for humanitarian causes, as well as selling products with no evidence.
She continued: ‘I worry about the implications of this a lot. I immediately block and report these accounts, and I also advise my followers to do the same, but I still feel anxious about how far and wide they have travelled.
‘What if someone has fallen for it, has transferred money or worse – taken the ill-informed advice and become unwell as a result?’
Urging people to be more cautious about what we see online, especially surrounding health, Dr Punam reiterated the importance of using credible sources like the NHS website before taking action.
After speaking out about the issue, fans shared their sympathies with the star as they took to the comments.
Expressing her concerns she wrote: ‘It is distressing to hear from followers who have received messages from fake accounts pretending to be me’ (pictured on Morning Live)
She continued: ‘ I worry about the implications of this a lot. I immediately block and report these accounts, and I also advise my followers to do the same, but I still feel anxious about how far and wide they have travelled’ (pictured with her dance partner Gorka Márquez)
After speaking out about the issue, fans shared their sympathies with the star as they took to the comments
One penned: ‘Thanks for highlighting this – it’s terrifying! The potential for other areas & sectors to be caught out by this is also very real – really important to stay super vigilant.’
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Dr Punam then replied: ‘it’s scary and deeply worrying..’
Another added: ‘It’s so terrifying… Thanks for sharing’.
It comes after Dr Punam revealed she has been wearing her dancing shoes around the her GP surgery in an attempt to break them in.
The star, who is partnered up with Gorka Marquez for this year’s series, said she was advised her to wear her high-heeled dancing shoes as much as possible so they are more comfortable during training.
In a video filmed in her medical practice and posted online, Dr Krishan discussed the feedback she received from her first session.
She said: ‘Obviously you know that I am training in the evenings for all things Strictly at the moment and the feedback that I’ve had after my first day of training has been that I really need to break in my dancing shoes in order to prevent them being as sore as they were and to also stop blisters.
‘So, I’ve had to get a little bit creative and work with the time that I’ve got. I’ve had to bring them to work with me. So, as you can see they’re really high. Not very comfortable at all. Very tight.
Dr Krishan is married to fellow GP and Scottish Conservative MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane, who she married in 2011
It comes after Dr Punam revealed she has been wearing her dancing shoes around the her GP surgery in an attempt to break them in
‘And when you’ve been dancing in them for a few hours I can’t tell you how sore the toes are. So, I’m just going to be rockin’ my scrubs and my sandals.
‘So, I wonder how that will go down with the patients as I go clickety clackety down the corridors. But you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to get through.
‘So that’s what I’m working with today: scrubs, stethoscopes, sandals.’
Dr Krishan is married to fellow GP and Scottish Conservative MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane, who she married in 2011.
The couple have a son Aarish, 11, and a daughter Ellora, four, as well as a pet cockapoo.