This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35064360

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Four convicted over massive phone scam against pensioners Gang guilty over £600,000 phone scam against pensioners
(34 minutes later)
Four men have been convicted of being involved in a phone scam in which pensioners across the south of England were defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Four men have been convicted of defrauding 18 pensioners out of a total of £600,000 in a phone scam carried out across the south of England.
Mohamed Dahir, 23, Sakaria Aden, 21, and Yasser Abukar, 23, were found guilty of conspiring to commit fraud.Mohamed Dahir, 23, Sakaria Aden, 21, and Yasser Abukar, 23, were found guilty of conspiring to commit fraud.
Another man, Ibrahim Farah, 23, was acquitted of the same charge. Mohammed Sharif Abokar, 28, was convicted at the Old Bailey of converting criminal property.
A fifth man, Mohammed Sharif Abokar, 28, was convicted at the Old Bailey of converting criminal property. The so-called "vishing" scam - or voice phishing - involved gang members posing on the phone as police officers.
A fifth man, Ibrahim Farah, 23, was acquitted of conspiring to commit fraud.
The scam had been carried out between May 2014 and May 2015.
Five other gang members had already pleaded guilty before the trial started.
BBC home affairs correspondent June Kelly said it was a "very typical scam".
"What happens is the scammer phones you, they said to the pensioners in this case, 'Call 999 or phone the fraud department of your bank.''
"But what has happened is the pensioner has put her or his phone down but the scammer has kept the line open and therefore when the pensioner thinks they are phoning the police in fact they are speaking to the criminals."