Duo sentenced after stealing £187,000 from One-Time passcode scam
Two men from Leicester who committed over £187,000 worth of fraud, have been sentenced
at Inner London Crown Court.
The duo also exposed victims to a further £300,000 in attempted losses, which were flagged and stopped by banking systems.
The sentencing follows investigation and arrest by specialist banking industry sponsored police unit, the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU).
Between November 2024 and July 2025, Mohammed Hassan Farooq, 22, and Deva Raval, 22, were part of a Leicester-based organised crime network who deliberately targeted elderly and vulnerable bank customers.
Victims were sent fraudulent text messages impersonating organisations including the DVLA, TV licensers and retailers offering promotions, which contained a link for victims to input their banking details.
The duo then followed up with those who had clicked on the link, using phone and video calls to impersonate bank staff to deceive victims into handing over one-time passcodes and downloading payment processing applications to transfer funds.
Following investigation by the banking industry, systems identified at least 164 fraudulent transactions across several months. The group had used multiple short-term rental properties to conceal their activity and distance themselves from the offending.
Investigators found that Farooq had played a leading role within the group, purchasing nearly 12,000 sets of stolen personal and financial data from criminal vendors operating on Telegram channels and accounts, which were then used to facilitate further offending.
Raval was found to have worked closely with Farooq and was involved in the day-to-day execution of the funds, where he would contact victims pretending to be a bank official and persuade them to authorise payments or transfer money.
DCPCU officers executed a coordinated operation at a rental property in Bedworth, Warwickshire, where Farooq and other suspects were arrested.
Following examination of a mobile phone, further crimes were uncovered by the pair, including repeated fraud against a vulnerable 80-year-old victim in London.
Both men pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court on 22 October 2026. Farooq received a custodial sentence of four and a half years and Raval was sentenced to two years, suspended for two years.
Detective Constable, Ant King at the DCPCU, said:
“This case highlights the scale and sophistication of modern fraud, and the lengths criminals will go to in order to exploit innocent people. Farooq and Raval were key figures in a coordinated operation that caused significant financial loss totalling £187,000 across a short eight-month period.”
“This case also shows why people should be cautious when they receive unsolicited text messages from numbers they do not recognise.
Follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop
Fraud Campaign; Stop and Think before sharing personal or financial information and treat one-time passcodes as carefully as you would your PIN.
“Thanks to the close partnership between the financial sector and the DCPCU, we were quickly able to bring this individual to justice and stop them from causing further financial harm.”
