A family of fraudsters who targeted a pensioner in a “Lebanese loop” scam at a cash machine have been jailed.
Shahbaz Khan, 23, Feroz Khan, 21, and Adam Khan, 23, were sentenced after being caught on CCTV cameras conning their 79-year-old victim by diverting him after tampering with the machine.
The three fraudsters had rigged the cash point, in Roman Road, Bethnal Green, so bank cards would get stuck inside it, before watching their victim enter his PIN number.
They then reassured the pensioner that the card would not come out, before using the “Lebanese loop” – a strip of metal – to retrieve the card and defraud its owner after he had left the scene.
Investigating officer PC Helen Jarvest, of Limehouse police station, said: “This was a despicable crime committed against an elderly victim who thought he was being helped when in fact he was being tricked into becoming a victim of crime.
“Should your bank card get stuck in a cash machine then be wary of people who may pretend to help you and certainly make sure nobody is close enough to see you type in your PIN number”, she added.
Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman praised council officers after they tracked down the defendants using CCTV footage.
All three men pleaded guilty to possession of an article for use in fraud for the offence, as well as a string of others carried out across London on the Underground network.
Shahbaz Khan, of Clissold Road, Stoke Newington, and Feroz Khan, of Tyndall Road, Leyton, were both jailed for 12 months each at Blackfriars Crown Court on Monday.
Adam Khan, also of Clissold Road, was given a 12 month sentence, suspended for a year, 100 hours unpaid work, a two week supervision order and £200 costs.
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