An unverified Facebook account created to ‘celebrate the life’ of Lance Appleby has been reportedly marked as scam

An unverified social media “tribute” page dedicated to Lance Appleby has popped up a day after his memorial.

An unverified Facebook account allegedly ‘celebrating’ the life of Streaky Bay shark victim Lance Appleby had cropped up online, a day after his memorial service.

Mr Appleby’s younger sister, Harriet Appleby, shared a post on Monday with an attached screenshot of the fake account, saying “SCAM! Report and delete”.

One user commented under the post saying, “Oh no, that’s just awful”, while another said “I thought the link looked suss, how’s the style of some people”.

The post has been shared by members of Mr Appleby’s family, including his elder sister Marilla.

A fake Facebook account for Lance Appleby, who was killed by a shark while surfing near Streaky Bay, has since been taken down. Picture: Facebook

The fake account “Lance Appleby Celebration of life”, which has since been disabled, had a photo of Mr Appleby on display with a stock cover photo of a casket adorned with flowers.

SAPOL was contacted for comment and said that the matter “had to be taken up with Facebook”.

A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that they have “removed the page for violating our policies”.

The Advertiser reached out to his family who declined to offer further comment on the matter.

Mr Appleby’s life was tragically cut short in a great white shark attack while surfing off the Granites on January 2.

The 28-year old had lived on the Eyre Peninsula while growing up and eventually moved to the Gold Coast in 2023 for work.

The Port Lincoln local had been visiting his family and friends from Queensland during the festive break when the tragedy struck.

Friends and family of Lance Appleby packed out The Institute Streaky Bay on Monday to pay tribute 11 days after he was fatally mauled by a great white shark off the Granites on the Eyre Peninsula. Picture: Missing Link Media

His memorial service was held on Monday afternoon at The Institute Streaky Bay 11 days after his passing, where friends and family gathered to pay tribute and bid farewell to the beloved surfer and cherished member of the community.

Locals fondly remembered his love for surfing, footy and his mates, with his partner saying he was “forever putting the needs of others before his own”.

Lance’s brother Kenneth Appleby said it was “an honour to be his brother”, while his sister Esther said that “there was now a piece of their family missing forever”.

Three hundred family and friends had also gathered on Saturday at a commemorative paddle-out at the Granites to honour Mr Appleby’s life.

Lance Appleby tragically lost his life ‘doing what he loved, with a beaming smile on his face’ on January 2. Picture: Supplied

A GoFundMe page, which is no longer accepting donations, was created to honour Mr Appleby on January 4 and had raised over $118,000 going towards organising a memorial, a plaque and to relieve the family’s financial burdens.

Mr Appleby’s passing has “devastated” his family who said in the page description that the “only solace (they) can find is knowing that Lance was doing what he loved, with a beaming smile on his face”.

His tragic death marks the second fatal shark attack at Granites Beach, Streaky Bay, in just over a year, following the death of Tod Gendle in October 2023.

Search efforts to locate Mr Appleby’s body concluded on Monday.

Originally published as An unverified Facebook account created to ‘celebrate the life’ of Lance Appleby has been reportedly marked as scam