A woman has warned people to be vigilant online after she was conned into draining all her life savings by a scammer posing as her favourite singer.
Growing up, Kirsten Zuk, 58, was “obsessed” with singer Peter Noone.
She had initially fallen in love with all of his music while he was part of the sixties pop group, Herman’s Hermits, and so went to most of his solo gigs as an adult – until she had a stroke.
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Unable to leave her home, she threw herself into drawing portraits of famous people to help pass the time and posted one of none other than Peter to his Facebook page.
To her surprise, she woke up the next morning with a message from him in her inbox and the pair started to connect on a deeper level.
So much so, that she forked out £64,000 of her life savings to loan him; but it was, in fact, a scam artist.
“I felt sick to my stomach because deep down, I knew something wasn’t right,” the artist told What’s The Jam.
“Part of me wondered if the whole thing was too good to be true, but I decided it wasn’t worth second-guessing myself.
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“I deserved to be happy.
“But then I realised I was being taken for a mug.
“I was horrified I had been taken advantage of.
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“Never mind the fact I had no money, so I was left looking for scraps in the bin to eat.
“It was a nightmare from start to finish.
“How can people be so cruel?”
Kirsten, who is from Edmonton, Canada, met Peter Noone at one of his concerts nine years prior to the scam.
In January 2022, she suffered a life-threatening stroke – and was unsure how she’d find “peace” in life again.
But then, after posting the aforementioned drawing in April 2023, Kirsten thought her worries had been answered.
She said: “He said I was so talented; it was the words I needed to hear after such a tough time.
“Then he warned me there were a lot of scammers out there, which at the time, I was grateful for.
“But it was all an act.
“At first, we only spoke about shows and our shared music taste, and then moved onto more personal subjects such as his alleged divorce.
“I’d spend hours being a listening ear for him, and he’d often send me videos of himself.
“Once, I got a Herman’s Hermits teddy bear in the post – so how was I supposed to know it wasn’t real?”
Kirsten says the account then asked her to be his girlfriend, which she instantly saw as a red flag.
Turning him down, she still offered to help him out wherever needed.
After that, though, the demands for money started pouring in.
At first, it was to lend £5,000 for a recording studio session, followed by £36,000 in Xbox gift cards.
Then, it went up to a whopping £64,000 in the space of just nine months.
When she asked if he’d pay her back, there was always an excuse.
She said: “I received a cheque from him, which bounced, and then he started to belittle me if I said no to his requests.
“He always said he would pay me back – it was just the fact of when that was unclear.
“I was in so deep that I couldn’t face the idea he was lying to me.
“I told him I couldn’t afford it, but he didn’t care.”
Kirsten confided in her brother, who told her she was being scammed, and she decided to confront the suspected fake Peter Noone.
The artist said: “I messaged him saying I couldn’t believe that he had stolen all my money.
“But the lies kept coming, and I couldn’t take it anymore, so I phoned the police.
“Following their advice, I blocked the account, though the next few months were really dark.”
Kirsten says the police filed a report for fraud, but no further action was taken.
She hopes sharing her story will warn others to be careful when speaking to people online, as you don’t know who is really on the other end.
Kirsten added: “So many people don’t report scams, as they’re too embarrassed – but I’m not.
“It’s so important to be wary of any messages, especially as scammers target those vulnerable, like me.
“They thrive on pressuring you into action, so you don’t have a chance to think clearly – it’s gaslighting.
“I want to help prevent others from going through one of the worst experiences of my life.
“I can’t believe that something as innocent as posting a drawing on Facebook would spiral into this awful nightmare.
“But I have become a warrior through this experience – and I will do all I can to spread the word, so these scammers will stop for good.”
