"Exploiting their trust to deceive": Man jailed for scamming Hampshire elderly people pretending to be police
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A conman who scammed tens-of-thousands of pounds from elderly people through targeted phone calls has been jailed.
Qays Aktar, 30, played a major part in a criminal network which coerced vulnerable people and pensioners into handing over more than £100,000. More than 100 reports were made in Hampshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, and Dorset, relating to these scams.
Aktar, of Grasmere Avenue in Wembley, London, was jailed for more than five years on Friday (September 19). He was found to be behind a group committing courier fraud; a scam where criminals pretend to be police officers investigating banking fraud to target unsuspecting victims.
He used short term holiday lets in Norwich and London to set up temporary call centres. These were bases of operations to identify and line numbers associated with names Aktar perceived to belong to older people.
After cold calling the numbers and convincing victims they had been the subject of banking fraud and that he was an investigating officer, he would coerce victims into handing over cash as part of the fake operation. An investigation into his behaviour began in November 2024. After initial enquiries were progressed by Norfolk Constabulary, specialist detectives from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) picked up the case and identified Aktar as a suspect.
Following his arrest, several search warrants were conducted. Police seized all of his digital devices and found widespread evidence of fraud. Aktar was charged with eight counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, pleading guilty to all offences.
Eight victims aged between 65 and 83 were targeted, with Aktar being jailed at Norwich Crown Court for five years and one month. Enquiries are ongoing to establish if any available assets can be used to compensate Aktar’s victims under Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) legislation.
Detective Inspector Mhairi Shurmer, from ERSOU’s Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), said: “Courier fraud preys on the most vulnerable in society by exploiting their trust in the police to deceive them out of their savings.
“This type of crime has a high financial and emotional impact on victims, which is why we are committed to pursuing and apprehending those involved. A police officer or bank employee will never ask you to withdraw and hand over cash or any other currency. If you are asked to do this, hang up and contact police straight away.”