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 pretend Blackmore linked with Horwood by way of Facebook then started requesting cash for pretend investments by way of messaging apps. The reward playing cards will be redeemed at many stores and supermarkets.

“My mum is not a stupid old lady,” Horwood’s daughter Debbie instructed The Sun. “She is very streetwise and very switched on. She was probably quite lonely. She was enjoying the chats that they were having. It is quite heartbreaking that she was sucked in.”

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The con was solely found when Horwood was compelled to ask her household for cash so as to pay payments. Her anxious daughter accessed Horwood’s checking account solely to uncover that her life financial savings had vanished.

“She was pulled into a false sense of security thinking she had this really good friend who was a famous person,” Debbie stated. “She really did not believe us when we told her that it was a scam.”

As Horwood’s monetary scenario worsened, the 81-year-old Fleet, Hampshire, resident turned so distraught that she reportedly tried suicide. “Her world just completely fell apart,” Debbie added. “She couldn’t comprehend what had happened. It is a hard thing to take on that you have just given all of your money away to a scammer.”

The case is now below investigation by native police within the U.Okay. In 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 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,” Debbie stated. “My mum may need to go to a nursing home soon and that’s what she could be using her money for – not for some scammers to go and buy a Rolex watch or a smart car.”