14 DAY TRIAL // A number of 10 individuals have been sentenced to a total of 40 years by a judge at the Guildford Crown Court after they had convinced several elderly citizens to hand over more than £120,000 ($191,916 or 150,122 EUR).
“The sentences that have been handed to these callous individuals have ensured that they are locked up for some time to come,” Detective Chief Inspector Paul Rymarz of the Surrey Police said.
“These offenders prey on the elderly and vulnerable and do not care about the devastating effect their actions can have on their victims' lives. It's not just about the money – which in some cases amounted to the victim's life savings – but it is also the long-term effect it can have on victims' faith in humanity and ability to trust people.”
The suspects, aged between 24 and 48, tricked their victims into handing over their credit cards and their associated PINs by calling them up and pretending to be from the bank.
They told victims that a bank representative would come by their homes to pick up their credit cards, which apparently needed to be replaced.
As soon as they received the cards, the crooks immediately withdrew money from ATMs or used them to purchase luxury and electrical items.
Authorities identified the culprits based on the phone numbers they used to call up their victims and footage recorded by various CCTV cameras.
Fortunately, law enforcement apprehended the crooks, but this case once again highlights the fact that a skilled con artist can easily convince almost anyone to hand over sensitive information.
“Surrey Police is committed to relentlessly pursuing anyone who deliberately targets the vulnerable in our communities for their own gain. I want to make it clear that if you come in to Surrey to commit these kinds of offences then expect to have us knocking on your door,” Rymarz added.