Heartless fraudsters posed as police to fleece thousands from elderly

FRAUDSTERS posed as police officers to defraud pensioners out of thousands of pounds.

One member of the gang would phone the victims saying there had been fraudulent activity on their accounts and that they should leave their bank cards and PIN numbers in an envelope outside their homes due to the Covid pandemic.

The courier, Mohamed Chowdhury, would then drive and collect it before using the cards to withdraw cash from their accounts.

Derby Crown Court heard how the mastermind behind the operation has never been caught but Chowdhury was captured on CCTV driving to each of the addresses and taking the envelopes.

Jailing him for a year, Recorder Adrian Reynolds said: “This fraud was as despicable and it was dishonest. What was stolen from these elderly vulnerable victims was more precious than money.

“What was stolen was their peace of mind. It was appalling behaviour.”

Sarah Slater, prosecuting, said the frauds all happened between March and May, last year. T he victims were in Chesterfield, Hope Valley, Sheffield, Barnsley and Doncaster.

Miss Slater said: “The victims were between 79 and 89 years of age and the method on each was the same. Unfortunately since this happened two of the victims have died and the son of one of them says this had a massive impact on the deterioration of her health. He said she felt embarrassed and ashamed.”

Miss Slater said in total more than £5,000 was taken from the victims by the gang. She said the Hope Valley woman became suspicious of the call and instead of leaving her bank card in the envelope for

Chowdhury to collect instead put in a piece of cardboard which was the same size.

In her victim impact statement she said: “I am upset but I feel I am a strong person and I do not want this to happen to anyone else.”

Chowdhury, a 46-year-old dad of four, of Haverhill Grove, Wombwell, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to a number of counts of fraud and one of attempted theft.