According to Breitbart, a group of 9 people, apparently of Arabic origin, managed to strip a number of British pensioners of their money. They used a phishing technique, imposing as police officers and asking the elderly people to call the police or their banks immediately. The criminals stayed online during the call, which enabled them to obtain all necessary information to gain access to the victims' banking accounts.
At least 18 victims were affected, with a total sum of unlawfully obtained money of around £900,000 (more than € 1,100,000). None of the money stolen was recouped, and some of the victims already died, penniless, while others were awarded a token sum by their banks in compensation.
An investigation was launched after suspicious payments were tracked entering the account of a British jihadi fighting in Syria.
The gang consisted of Muslim individuals of undisclosed countries of origin. At least one suspect named Dahir reportedly originates from Somalia. Interestingly, he allegedly relied on close ties to the family of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but both Dahir's mother and sister are deeply surprised why the police arrested their brother and son.
"My father is a close friend of his. He [Mr. Corbyn] was able to vouch for my brother, for us, we are thankful to him. We had to prove my brother was innocent. Clearly if my brother was a criminal, he would not have participated," said Dahir's sister.
Jeremy Corbyn himself wrote a letter of support asking a judge for bail just before Christmas because he had "roots in the area" and was unlikely to abscond.
However, Commander Richard Walton, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said: "This callous group of criminals stole vast sums of money from extremely vulnerable and elderly people from across the country. The targeting of vulnerable men and women in their 80s and 90s is quite simply beyond belief."
Other members were identical as Shakaria Aden, Yasser Abukar, Mohammed Abokar, Fahim Islam, Achmed Abdulaziz Ahmed, Makzhumi Abukar, Anrul Islam, and Mohammed Youssfi. Their ages range from 21 to 37. The gang's sentence is postponed until Wednesday, May 4th.
