Considered one of Ritchie Blackmore’s former classmates has been scammed out of virtually $184,000 by somebody pretending to be the previous Deep Purple cofounder.
Valerie Horwood, a terminally sick most cancers affected person, was conned into sending a sequence of Apple reward playing cards over a interval of three years. The faux Blackmore related with Horwood by way of Fb then started requesting cash for faux investments by way of messaging apps. The reward playing cards may be redeemed at many stores and supermarkets.
“My mum is just not a silly outdated girl,” Horwood’s daughter Debbie advised The Solar. “She may be very streetwise and really switched on. She was most likely fairly lonely. She was having fun with the chats that they have been having. It’s fairly heartbreaking that she was sucked in.”
READ MORE: Ritchie Blackmore’s Favourite Band Is One We By no means Would’ve Guessed
The con was solely found when Horwood was compelled to ask her household for cash to be able to pay payments. Her apprehensive daughter accessed Horwood’s checking account solely to find that her life financial savings had vanished.
“She was pulled right into a false sense of safety considering she had this actually good good friend who was a well-known individual,” Debbie stated. “She actually didn’t consider us after we advised her that it was a rip-off.”
As Horwood’s monetary state of affairs worsened, the 81-year-old Fleet, Hampshire, resident grew to become so distraught that she reportedly tried suicide. “Her world simply utterly fell aside,” Debbie added. “She could not comprehend what had occurred. It’s a laborious factor to tackle that you’ve got simply given your entire cash away to a scammer.”
The case is now underneath investigation by native police within the U.Okay. Within the meantime, a fundraising web page has been launched to assist restore Horwood’s life financial savings. She is affected by most cancers of the pancreas, liver and spleen.
“We’re preventing for justice for my mum and to recoup her cash in order that she will be able to determine what she needs to do with it in her time left,” Debbie stated. “My mum might have to go to a nursing residence quickly and that is what she might be utilizing her cash for – not for some scammers to go and purchase a Rolex watch or a wise automobile.”
Eight Rock + Steel Scams We Cannot Consider Folks Fell For
Listed here are some scams associated to rock and metallic artists from the final couple of years that we won’t consider individuals fell for.
Gallery Credit score: Lauryn Schaffner
Supply hyperlink