Jail for fraudster whose gang posed as bank staff and police

Arif Sattar, 31, was part of a group that contacted ten victims, including two 93 year olds, in March 2017 and told them their bank accounts had been targeted and immediate action was needed to protect their money.

In some cases men including Sattar met the victims while one of them posed as a police officer, to encourage the handover of thousands of pounds. The men showed a Police Scotland logo on a phone as identification.

Most of the intended victims identified the suspicious behaviour and refused to hand over their money, but Sattar and the group defrauded three victims of a total of £16,780.

The police were called when one of the victims became suspicious. The car the gang had been using was traced to a Motherwell property where Sattar was staying. Officers found 12 mobile phones in Sattar’s bedroom.

Sattar admitted the fraudulent scheme and was jailed for three years at Glasgow Sheriff Court today.

Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin, Moira Orr, said: “Sattar was part of a gang the posed as police officers and as bank staff so they would be trusted to persuade people to hand over thousands of pounds of their money.

“This was a callous fraud by a group of men who took advantage of people’s trust to obtain their money. It is a clear example of the need to be vigilant and never provide personal details over the phone unless you initiated the call.”