Tesco issues statement after pensioner loses £140k to gift card scam

Valerie Horwood, 81, from Hampshire, met a devastating end to her life after being scammed out of £140k by a fraudster pretending to be Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore

Tesco has stepped up after an 81 year old terminally ill woman was conned out of £140K by a scammer impersonating Deep Purple's guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Valerie Horwood from Fleet, Hampshire, was duped after receiving a Facebook message in September 2022 from someone pretending to be her old school chum, Mr Blackmore.

The scam involved the pensioner purchasing hundreds of Apple gift cards under the guise of getting all her money back and more. She was also led to believe that due to his fame, their conversations had to remain confidential.

Now diagnosed with terminal cancer, Valerie has been left without funds to fulfil her final wishes or leave anything for her children.

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Her daughter Debbie, 58, who now cares for her mother full-time, shared: "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. 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."

"It is a very crafty scam. I have been through the worst emotional rollercoaster with it all."

Debbie recalls noticing odd behaviour from her mother as early as June 2023 but found nothing amiss upon checking her phone. Valerie's family became aware of the scam when she asked a friend to lend her £2,000 for bills because her account was drained.

The con artist had been in touch with the elderly lady via an app called Signal, which Debbie was unfamiliar with and thus missed during a device search. Debbie expressed her frustration: "It just made me so cross because if I had known about this app then I would have seen this in June/July last year and I could have nipped this in the bud."

She is determined to spread the word: "I really want to raise awareness. The scammers will be working on their next scam."

She warned others: "So many people just don't know about this gift card scam."

The revelation was a shock to the family: "We all went into shock. My mum is not a stupid old lady. She is very streetwise and very switched on."

Debbie reflected on her mother's situation: "She was probably quite lonely. She was enjoying the chats that they were having."

She lamented the emotional toll it took: "It is quite heartbreaking that she was sucked in. I never would have guessed that my mum would be so vulnerable like that."

After removing Signal, Valerie started getting threatening WhatsApp messages from the scammer demanding more money, leading her to a suicide attempt.

Valerie has since moved in with her daughter, who cares for her with the help of visiting carers.

Debbie has informed all the supermarkets where Valerie bought the cards, praising Tesco for refunding the £12,500 spent there.

The family is now calling on other retailers, particularly Waitrose, Boots, and Morrisonswhere most of the cash was splurgedto follow suit.

Debbie expressed: "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. Not for some scammers to go and buy a Rolex watch or a smart car."

The elderly lady had dreams of visiting her grandson in Antigua, a trip the family can no longer afford.

Touched by the plight, a former colleague and friend of Debbie's has launched a JustGiving campaign to help claw back some of the vanished funds.

Surjit Sonik, 58, from Surrey Heath, who worked alongside Debbie for about three years as a community engagement manager, remembers Valerie fondly as a regular at many of her events.

She remarked: "We wanted to get the message out so that it didn't happen to anyone else in our community."

"I was absolutely horrified when I found out what had happened. Valerie is one of the nicest people you can come across."

"When I saw what happened to her it was really heartbreaking."

"I wanted to raise funds so that she can do anything she wants while she still can. Any excess will go to charity."

"The family went through so much and Valerie was really mentally affected by what happened. The money that she wanted to leave for her children or use for herself in old age is gone."

"This is happening to so many vulnerable people and there is not enough being done to stop it. When someone is 81 and has worked their whole life to have it all cruelly robbed."

Tesco stated: "We take a number of precautions to protect our customers from gift card fraud, including limiting the number and value of gift cards that can be bought in one transaction."

The supermarket added: "We are working with industry bodies to raise awareness of gift card fraud and have partnered with UK Finance on their Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign. We were the first supermarket to introduce scam warnings at our gift card displays in stores."

Tesco also said: "We actively monitor gift card transactions and will investigate any suspicious patterns. Our colleagues receive training and guidance on how to recognise that a scam may be taking place. We also send regular updates to colleagues on what to look out for and how to report suspected scams."

Waitrose stated: "We're really sorry to hear about the distress and financial loss that Mrs Horwood experienced."

The supermarket added: "We've issued additional guidance and controls within our shops and are collaboratively working with others within the industry to see what additional safeguards can be put in place to protect vulnerable customers from gift card fraud."

Morrisons stated: "We sympathise with the victims of these scams, where vulnerable individuals are often the target."

"Retailers are educating their staff about these scams and are providing them with training to help to spot those targeted."

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A Boots spokesperson expressed their sadness, saying: "We were deeply saddened to hear about Mrs Horwood's ordeal."

They added: "We take fraud of any kind very seriously and we regularly communicate with our store teams so they can spot the signs of fraud and provide safeguarding to victims."

The spokesperson explained further actions taken by the store: "Our store management team in Fleet raised concerns after becoming suspicious of the unusually high value of gift card purchases being made by Mrs Horwood, after which we refused further sales of gift cards to her."

Finally, they highlighted cooperation with law enforcement: "We also contacted Hampshire Police to offer our support with the investigation."

They attached also a note for further support: The Justgiving page can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Valerie-Horwood.