A call centre worker who travelled from Manchester to Cardiff to con an elderly woman has been jailed for fraud and theft.
Detectives have praised the 78-year-old victim for her quick-thinking actions which helped identify Kamal Hussein as the person responsible.
Hussein drove around 180 miles to the woman’s house in Canton claiming he needed to refund her bank account in person. He then stole her card and using her personal identification number (PIN) withdrew £500 from her account using cash machines in Cardiff and Newport.
The victim instinctively sensed something was wrong as soon as he left her house and wisely preserved a glass from which he had drunk some water in her kitchen.
Forensic examination confirmed Hussein as the suspect. The 34-year-old customer advisor was arrested four days later on November 18 in Manchester and pleaded guilty at the first hearing at Cardiff Magistrates the following day.
Detective Constable Sara Bradbury from South Wales Police said:
“Hussein used many different names and had no connection to Cardiff. He targeted this lady because of her age and there were other similar victims in North Wales and Kent.
“Our victim felt stupid that this had happened to her but in reality she is an extremely smart lady and without her help we would not have caught Hussein.
“When she was told he was now in prison she was very relieved and said she could finally stop shaking.”
Hussein was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, January 31 to six months for 10 fraud offences and two years for two counts of theft to run concurrent. He received a further six-month prison sentence to run consecutive for breach of licence.
The victim was given a full refund by her bank.
Members of the public are reminded never to provide their bank details to cold callers.
