Here's a lovely pair who have just been banged up for the old bogus police officer fraud.
They posed as detectives and convinced their 82-year-old victim that her bank account had been compromised and she needed to hand her bank cards to a “police” courier.
The pair from north London were caught by specialist officers from the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit after trying to use one of them to buy a £21,000 watch.
Arnold Ankrah, 26, was sentenced to 31 months in prison, including nine months for a separate fraud charge. Michael Ohemeng-Mensah, 27, got 16 months, also including sentences for separate fraud charges.
All too often crooks like these who prey on the elderly are never caught, or are never charged or get away with suspended sentences if they end up in court. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, in 2017-18 the number of successful convictions for crimes against older people was 2,753, representing a conviction rate of just 0.003% of elder abuse prevalence.
This is why the work of Action on Elder Abuse so important. I've highlighted many times how this charity punches well above its weight in its campaign for greater protection for old folk from physical and financial abuse.
Now it is urgently calling for money to help fund key aspects of its work, including its 080 8808 8141 helpline.
“Action on Elder Abuse exists to fight for the voiceless,” said its chairman Dr John Beer.
“Most of the people we help have exhausted all other options for getting justice.
“Older people and their families are coming to us having suffered horrific abuse - from being neglected and shamefully mocked in care homes to having money and possessions stolen by their own relatives, right through to shocking physical and sexual assaults.
“All too often, these people run up against a wall of indifference or deliberate buck-passing from officialdom. Without our help, they'd be abandoned, left to fight alone against criminal justice and social care systems that are too stretched themselves to offer the patient, unwavering support we do routinely.
“Unfortunately, we're operating in an extremely challenging fundraising environment and elder abuse simply doesn't get the attention of child abuse or even animal abuse.
“This is quite shocking when you consider that there are around a million victims per year across the UK and the public services that are available to help them have been cut to the bone by austerity as it is.
"But the truth is that if we are forced to reduce our support, those costs will fall back on the police, social care and mental health services which is why we desperately need the Government, MPs and other stakeholders to take our plight seriously."
The number of calls received by the charity’s helpline in the year to May 1 was 8,530, a 4% increase on the previous year.
Almost 5,000 of the calls resulted in further investigation by Action on Elder Abuse’s dedicated team of staff and volunteers.
The breakdown of cases by abuse type was: Physical - 9%, Financial - 39%, Psychological, - 34% Neglect - 16%, Sexual - 1%.
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