A fraudster has been jailed for helping to scam almost £40,000 from a Tunbridge Wells pensioner.

Shahin Uddin was convicted of acquiring criminal property through theft, following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

Uddin, aged 29 and formerly of Earnest Street, Whitechapel, was linked to a call made by a man to the 67-year-old in November 2014 claiming to be from her bank.

He identified himself as Stephen Montgomery and told her that her account had been compromised.

To convince the victim the call was genuine the caller also rang her mobile phone and said a telephone number would appear, which would match a number on the back of her bank card.

When the victim saw this number appear she was then asked to transfer money from her own accounts into ‘safe accounts’. The victim complied with the instructions and as each transfer was completed received a text confirming the transaction. This led to a total of £37,000 being stolen.

During an investigation by Kent Police, officers identified a number of different bank accounts where the stolen money had been deposited into. One of these belonged to Uddin, who was arrested in December, 2015.

Uddin, however, claimed he had no idea how an amount of £15,000 had ended up in his account and insisted it was a mistake by the banks and their fault. He told police he had spent the money by gambling it at a number of London casinos.

Appearing at Maidstone Crown Court Uddin denied any involvement in the scam, but was found guilty by a jury, after a trial. On 27 January he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Detective Craig Malthouse said: "The impact of this type of crime can be simply devastating to victims, who are often older or vulnerable people. In this instance a victim was targeted repeatedly, in order to steal as much money from her as possible. She has not only suffered a significant financial loss, but has also had to endure the stress and upset of being targeted in such a callous way.

"We believe other offenders were connected to Uddin in carrying out this scam and our enquires will continue to also bring these people to justice."

Police advise anyone who receives a similar call to end it immediately and wait at least five minutes before using the telephone again, in order to clear their line from the scammer. Never transfer any money or hand over cash to a courier as a result of this type of call.