Nicola Bulley’s family horrified as sick scammers use photos of mum on fake online dating profiles
NICOLA Bulley's family have been left horrified after sick scammers used photos of the mum on fake online dating profiles.
The mum-of-two, 45, accidentally drowned in the River Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27.
Cops launched a search which lasted weeks with her body being found 23 days after she vanished.
Last month, an inquest concluded Nicola fell into the water while walking her dog and suffered "cold water shock".
Diving expert Professor Mike Tipton said she would have lost consciousness almost instantly as a result of the 4C temperature of the river.
He also suggested she would have drowned in "one or two breaths" and died "in less than ten minutes".
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Nicola's family last month took aim at social media sleuths for continuing to spread conspiracy theories five months on from the tragedy.
And her heartbroken relatives have faced a new torment after discovering trolls were using her face on a website called Smooch.com.
The scammers responsible were using pictures of Nicola as part of a catfish operation in a bid to lure lonely men or women in.
Multiple accounts used pictures of her under different names and claimed she was based in London.
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A disgusted family member described the scam as "sick".
A source told : "The family have been made aware of this.
"They've already been through the most horrendous ordeal.
The accounts have since been taken down from the website which charges users £23 per month and promises to deliver romance.
When her body was found, Nicola's family said their "worst fears had been confirmed".
A statement added: "We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us.
"We will never forget Nikki, how could we, she was the centre of our world, she was the one who made our lives so special and nothing will cast a shadow over that.
"Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most."
They added: "Our hearts truly break for others who have missing loved ones. Keep that hope alive.
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"Finally, Nikki, you are no longer a missing person, you have been found, we can let you rest now.
"We love you, always have and always will, we'll take it from here."
