A 'wicked' conman orchestrated a complex banking scam from a Salford flat - with pensioners across the country swindled out of more than £1.5m amid a wider conspiracy. Azeem Mohammed, 33, played a 'leading role' in the operation, which targeted vulnerable elderly people.

Evil scammers used a number of elaborate rouses, including using various phone numbers manned by different members of the group - and fake bank websites - to convince their victims they were fraud investigators from high street banks such as HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and Nationwide. They claimed people's accounts were 'under attack'.