A serial fraudster who duped dozens of vulnerable people including a former prisoner of war out of thousands of pounds has been spared a jail term.

Hayden Gabay, 22, of Headley Drive, New Addington, cold-called elderly victims pretending to work for their bank or the police and tricked them into giving him their bank details.

He then conned them into handing over their cards before draining money from their banks between March and October last year.

His victims included a 93-year-old Bromley war veteran who endured three-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war and lost tens of thousands of pounds to Gabay's scam.

In a deception known by police as courier fraud, Gabay called his victims and warned them he had spotted fraudulent payments made on their cards.

He asked them to phone their bank or the police, but stayed on the line so they were unwittingly connected back to him.

The victims were then asked to provide their full bank details and key in their PIN codes and told their bank would collect their old card so it could be destroyed. 

Gabay then posed as a bank employee to visit their homes and obtained their card. 

He pleaded guilty to 37 counts of dishonestly making a false representation at Croydon Crown Court last week, with a further five counts to remain on file.

A judge sentenced him to 16 months behind bars, suspended for two years, with a further four-month suspended jail term for possession of crack cocaine and cannabis.

Detective Constable Liz Truan, of Bromley CID, said: "I hope that Gabay's sentencing will increase public awareness of this type of crime. I would encourage anyone who receives an unsolicited call from someone purporting to be a police officer or bank employee to be wary and be sure to obtain the caller's full details. 

"Make sure their call has been disconnected by waiting at least five minutes before calling back on an official telephone number and listen for the dial tone. Do not hand over any money or items purchased as a result of this type of call."