A 21-year-old man has been jailed after scamming a retired couple over the phone to gain access to their bank cards.
Conrad Mukama of Fontwell Close in Northolt pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud between March and May 2013 and received an immediate six month custodial sentence at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday (December 2).
The couple from Radlett were contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer investigating fraudulent use of their bank cards on the evening of May 26, 2013.
They were told arrests had been made and that their bank cards were needed as part of the investigation.
The victims put their cards in an envelope which was collected by a courier, but the next day they realised the call was a scam after the cards were used by the fraudsters to withdraw hundreds of pounds.
Later the same week, the couple were contacted again by a fraudster but, being aware of the scam, they kept the caller on the line whilst they contacted Hertfordshire Constabulary who were able to send officers to the address and make a recording of the caller.
Officers carried out extensive work around the telephone number used in the scam which led to a warrant being executed at Mukama’s address in London where the telephone that had been used in the scam was recovered. Further analytical work linked Mukama to the Radlett offence and two other offences in London.
Detective Constable Darren Machin from Borehamwood’s Local Crime Unit led the investigation into Mukama and said: “It has taken some time to get this case to court due to the complex nature of our investigation and we are happy the court has taken the serious nature of this offence into consideration. This has been reflected in the sentence, which is significant considering this was Mukama’s first offence.
“This was a despicable crime as Mukama preyed on the trusting nature of his victims and I hope this sends a clear message to anyone involved in phone scams that we will find you and ensure you are brought to court.
“I would also like to use this case to highlight the fact that phone scams are still operating in the area and people should be aware that the police and banks would never ask you to send your banks cards or money to them in any circumstances.”
