Viewers rally behind “Rally Sally” who was duped out of $160K

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Cindy McBride says she is blessed to have a place to live.

“Yeah, I got a room over there, a bathroom, and that’s the kitchen,” McBride said as she showed 3 On Your Side the house she rents. “I’m so happy about that. Two days before I had to be out. I didn’t know where I was going to stay.”

If she looks familiar, McBride is referred to as Rally Sally, who’s known in the Valley for dancing, waving flags, and cheering on her beloved Arizona Diamondbacks. But, in a recent 3 On Your Side report, McBride revealed a secret not even her family knew about. McBride had become a victim of something called the Romance Scam.

“I got involved with something I never should have gotten involved in,” she said.

A scammer, posing as a reputable and legitimate U.S Air Force General, contacted McBride through Facebook and wooed her with charming messages for more than a month.

“Do you think you were falling in love with him?” 3 On Your Side’s Gary Harper asked. “Well, the more he said, yes, the love started,” she replied.

The scammer eventually asked McBride to send him some money. But what started off as a small amount quickly grew. In fact, McBride took stacks of cash and stuffed them inside of books and mailed them to the scammer, thinking she was sending it to her online sweetheart.

“This was one of the payments I sent him,” she said as she showed us a picture of a stack of money. “If you count, there are 10 stacks of $10,000.”

That’s right, $100,000. McBride says she was so caught up in her new romance that she wound up selling her condo and mailing all the proceeds to the scammer. In all, she stuffed more than $160,000 cash inside of books like she was told to do and mailed them before finally realizing she had been duped out of her life’s savings. Finding herself out of money and about to be homeless, this devout Christian says she turned to God for help.

“The Lord provided this place. It’s a safe place. It’s happy,” McBride said of her new rental home she shares with a roommate. At the last minute, McBride says she was able to find and rent this home before landing in the streets. And get this. Once 3 On Your Side’s initial news report aired, a family member set up a GoFundMe page. One anonymous donor kicked in $10,000. Including all donations, McBride’s account has grown to more than $11,300. McBride says the money, along with a roof over her head, only happened because of generous viewers who saw a 3 On Your Side report.

“When people say God Bless you. I’ll say he does every minute of every day. It’s not just a saying to me. It’s here in my heart.”

McBride’s GoFundMe page is still active. If you’d like to help her out, you can find it here.