MANCHESTER — Azeem Mohammed, 33, has been sentenced to 6 years and 9 months in prison for defrauding elderly customers out of £958,949. The sentencing follows his conviction for impersonating a bank employee and deceiving victims into handing over control of their bank accounts.
Mohammed, who used fake names and posed as part of a fraud investigation team, tricked elderly victims into disclosing their account details. He then used remote access tools to take control of their computers, change account details, and withdraw funds. Mohammed also convinced victims to send photos of their IDs and share one-time passwords, bypassing security checks to access their accounts.
In one case, he opened additional accounts in the victim’s name to launder the stolen money. He emptied savings accounts and took out over £60,000 in loans fraudulently. Police were able to seize several phones used by Mohammed to carry out his fraud, and they discovered that his flat was specifically set up for large-scale fraudulent activities.
UK Finance reports that in the first half of 2024, £32.3 million was lost to scams involving impersonation of banks and law enforcement, with over 4,000 cases of authorised push payment fraud.
Law enforcement and banking industry cooperation led to Mohammed’s arrest and conviction, with authorities pledging to continue efforts to protect the public from such financial crimes.
Focus Keyword: Azeem Mohammed, bank fraud, elderly scam, financial crime, UK Finance
Tags: Azeem Mohammed, fraud, financial crime, elderly scam, impersonation scam, bank fraud, UK Finance, crime sentencing, fraud prevention, authorised push payment fraud