Two men who impersonated police officers to defraud members of the public have been convicted of their crimes and will be sentenced early next year.

Mahbub Hussain, 24, of Buckle Street, London, was found guilty by unanimous jury verdict of one count of conspiracy to defraud, following a seven-day trial which concluded at Reading Crown Court on November 26.

Mohammed Islam, 25, of Wroxhall Road, Dagenham, had earlier pleaded guilty to the same crime.

Between May 9 and May 21 this year, Hussain and Islam posed as officers when they contacted their victims by phone, purporting to be a sergeant and a police constable.

One of them would contact a member of the public via a landline claiming to be Sergeant Anthony Matthews, before instructing them to call back on 999 to verify his identity.

However, the fraudsters kept the line open, with the second defendant taking over the call to confirm Matthews’ identity as a legitimate police officer.

Hussain and Islam convinced several people to believe that they were assisting with covert police investigations.

In most cases, the victims were told that a fraudster impersonating a relative had been arrested, and that bank staff or the police were involved in the investigation.

Those receiving the calls from Hussain and Islam were then told to not tell anyone about their conversations.

In some cases, victims were requested to withdraw large sums of money for “fingerprinting” to assist the police in apprehending suspects.

Some were also asked to send money although these transfers were prevented by genuine banks.

Hussain and Islam made numerous phone calls to landlines across the UK, with 16 being used as witness statements to the police.

The Central Fraud Unit analysed these calls and in total, more than 60 hours of conversations were made.

One of the elderly victims endured more than 14 hours of calls in a single day.

While the total amount requested by the fraudsters exceeded £100,000, most people recognised the scam before parting with their money.

Hussain and Islam used multiple pay-as-you-go phones to carry out their activities.

They were arrested on May 21 and were charged the following day [May 22].

The two have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Reading Crown Court on February, 21.

Senior Investigating Officer Duncan Wynn added: “Tackling fraud is a priority for Thames Valley Police, as we know the majority of victims of this crime are elderly and losses can be significant.

“I am pleased with the outcome of this investigation into a series of offences committed across the Thames Valley.

“Bringing Hussain and Islam to justice has disrupted their ongoing activity and prevents further victims from being targeted.

“I would urge anyone who receives ‘cold calls’ of this nature asking for information or to assist the police or their bank to assume it is a fraud and report to their banks immediately or report to Action Fraud.

“We will tirelessly continue our efforts in pursuing those who defraud victims and protect people from fraudsters.”