Leicester brothers who posed as bank staff to trick customers out of £111,000 jailed

Two Leicester brothers who posed as bank staff to con customers out of £111,000 have been jailed. Officers described the actions of Zaki and Hanzalah Daudo as "callous" after discovering the pair had thousands of stolen bank details, and had used them to convince people to reveal their account information.

The fraudsters were caught with more than 94,000 sets of stolen banking credentials. Police officers found more than 65,000 unique bank card numbers on Zaki Daudo's phone, while more than 29,000 sets of banking data were discovered on Hanzalah Daudo's laptop.

Zaki Daudo, 34, and Hanzalah Daudo, 46, both of Wilson Street, Highfields, convinced victims to hand over security details and one-time passcodes, which they then used to make online purchases. Messages between the brothers on social media platforms contained victims' compromised data, showing what police described as their "criminal collaboration".

READ MORE: Sixth man accused of Narborough Road murder goes on trial

Zaki Daudo and Hanzalah Daudo were jailed for 24 months
Zaki Daudo and Hanzalah Daudo were jailed for 24 months -Credit:UK Finance Limited / City of London Police

The brothers worked together between 2019 and 2024 to fraudulently access bank customers' accounts by impersonating bank staff, police said. Officers arrested Zaki Daudo on Wednesday, July 10 last year while carrying out a warrant at his home address in Leicester. His brother was detained three days later at Stansted Airport after returning from Turkey.

ADVERTISEMENT

The case was brought against the brothers by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist banking-industry-sponsored police unit. It is a collaboration between UK Finance, the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police Service.

A spokesperson said the brothers were both initially charged with fraud by false representation and possession of articles for use in connection with fraud, but at trial were offered the opportunity to enter pleas to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud, which encompassed both earlier charges.

On Tuesday, January 7, both pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit fraud. The spokesperson added: "A conspiracy is often viewed as more serious than the singular offences."

This week, on Monday, January 20, the brothers appeared at Inner London Crown Court for sentencing. They were each handed 25 months in prison.

The officer in the case, PC Ant King, said after sentencing: "This case demonstrates the callousness of the Daudo brothers in stealing thousands from banking customers. The money stolen is only a snapshot of the potential losses to victims had these two been able to continue their crimes."

ADVERTISEMENT

According to UK Finance data, £193.7m was lost to remote purchase fraud in the first half of 2024. In such fraud, criminals use stolen card details to make purchases online, over the phone or via mail order.

We are now bringing you the latest updates on WhatsApp first