'Makes me angry': Coast FM star's image used for fake weight loss ads

Radio star Toni Street is urging her fans not to fall for a weight loss ad scam, after one woman lost $1000. The Coast FM star shared two images on her Instagram of fake advertisements that used doctored images of Street selling weight loss pills. “I hoped it was one of those small ones which would go away but I was contacted a few more times so it sounds there are a few ads going around,” she told the Herald. However, events took a serious turn when the daughter of a victim contacted Street, saying her mother had fallen for the scam “Her mum had been hooked in and paid $1000 and the daughter had stepped in and realised what she had done and put a stop to it.” Street told the Herald this was the third or fourth time scammers had used manipulated images of her. In 2023, the broadcaster’s image was used online to sell weight loss gummies. “Please do not give these people your money,” she said at the time, adding, “I would never promote weight loss gummies.” She wasn’t concerned for herself, but more for the people who had fallen for the scam, Street told the Herald. “I’ve been broadcasting for 20 years so I’ve got a pretty thick skin for things that are said about me or things like this, so I saw it and rolled my eyes. “To think that other people may be sucked in and to think that I was endorsing a weight loss pill, fills me with dread.” Street said these kinds of scams prey on everyday people’s vulnerabilities. “It preys on people looking to lose weight and target people however they can. They try and hit people where it hurts and where they think they can get some help. “It makes me angry that they think they can use my image to do that and there is not a lot you can do about it.” Other local celebrities caught up in online scams Hilary Barry has been at the centre of fake AI generated images in recent years, seemingly showing the Seven Sharp presenter endorsing keto weight loss gummies. Scammers also created burner X accounts, formerly Twitter, using screenshots of Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking to trick people into falling for cryptocurrency scams. Kiwi actor Martin Henderson was also at the centre of a romantic scam last year, when an American woman devoted two years and poured more than $375,000 into what she thought was a romantic relationship with him. In 2024, Jacinda Ardern’s husband Clarke Gayford was the centre of a Facebook scam disguised as fake news articles, impersonating the New Zealand Herald. The page detailed ways to make money fast, encouraging the user to click into the scam’s landing page.

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