Terminally ill pensioner scammed out of £140k by fraudster posing as Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore

The victim, Valerie Horwood, from Fleet, Hampshire, was tricked into purchasing hundreds of Apple gift cards for the scammer after being convinced that her former "friend" would repay her with interest.

The fraud began in September 2022 when Valerie received a message on Facebook from someone claiming to be Blackmore, her alleged school friend. The scammer convinced her to keep their conversations secret due to his supposed celebrity status. And now, Valerie, recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, no longer has the financial resources to fulfill her final wishes or provide for her children.

Her daughter Debbie, 58, who is now Valerie’s full-time carer, said: “She showed me her banking app and it was all gone. She was pulled into a false sense of security thinking she had this really good friend who was a famous person. She really did not believe us when we told her that it was a scam. Her world just completely fell apart.”

Debbie added: “It is a hard thing to take on that you have just given all of your money away to a scammer. I’ve been through the worst emotional rollercoaster with it all.”

Valerie’s family became aware of the scam when she asked a family friend for £2,000 to pay her bills, as her bank account was empty. The scammer had been communicating with Valerie through the Signal app, which went unnoticed by her family. After deleting the app, Valerie began receiving threatening messages on WhatsApp, which caused her extreme distress and led her to attempt suicide.

Debbie has since reached out to supermarkets where Valerie purchased the gift cards to raise awareness and seek refunds. Tesco has refunded £12,500, and the family is urging other stores like Waitrose, Boots, and Morrisons to do the same.

Debbie said: “We are fighting for justice for my mum and to recoup her money so that she can decide what she wants to do with it in her time left. My mum may need to go to a nursing home soon, and that’s what she could be using her money for.”

In a bid to support Valerie during her final months, a JustGiving page has been launched by a family friend, Surjit Sonik, to help recover some of the lost funds. Surjit said: “I was absolutely horrified when I found out what had happened. Valerie is one of the nicest people you can come across. The family went through so much, and Valerie was really mentally affected by what happened.”

The fundraising appeal aims to give Valerie the chance to enjoy the time she has left, including fulfilling her wish to visit her grandson in Antigua. Any excess funds will go to charity.

Valerie’s family is also using the tragic incident to raise awareness about gift card scams and warn others about the dangers of online fraud. Debbie said, “This is happening to so many vulnerable people, and there is not enough being done to stop it.”