An 87-year-old man foiled a fraud gang’s “sophisticated” scam to steal thousands of pounds from him, York Crown Court heard.

One of the gang duped the elderly North Yorkshire man by impersonating the police over the phone and another conned him into withdrawing enough money to fill an envelope, said Harry Crowson, prosecuting.

But before a third gang member could collect the money, the pensioner realised what was going on and contacted the real police.

Together North Yorkshire Police officers and the 87-year-old man set a trap.

Police stuffed an envelope with fake money, which the pensioner handed over when the third gang member knocked on his front door.

The gang member started to walk away “only to see the door reopen with police officers coming towards him,” said Mr Crowson.

“There was a brief pursuit, and he was arrested.”

Daniel Henao, 22, of Nilgun Canver Court, Clarendon Road, Wood Green, London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, adjourned sentence for a personal statement from the pensioner.

He remanded Henao in prison and warned him the sentence could be up to four years.

“Going up to the door, having been told to collect cash from an elderly man, seeing him and walking away with it, in my view, is immediate prison," the judge said. “He may as well start it now.”

He said it was a “sophisticated” scam but accepted Henao was a “stooge” who had not spoken to the pensioner over the phone.

Henao will learn how long the sentence is on January 15.

His barrister Nicholas Hammond will give his mitigation then. 

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Mr Crowson said a male member of the gang started the scam by telephoning the would-be victim and claiming to be a member of the Metropolitan Police.

The gang member lied that the pensioner had been the victim of ID theft and his bank account had been compromised.

He gave the pensioner a telephone number which he claimed would put him through to the police and when a woman’s voice responded and gave him a crime reference number, the 87-year-old believed she was part of the police.

But she was also part of the gang and the first caller had not hung up.

Mr Crowson said the gang persuaded the pensioner to go to his bank and withdraw £5,800 for safe keeping. They also told him to lie to the bank by claiming the money was for a car purchase.

The next day, the gang rang to say that the pensioner’s bank account was now safe again and to arrange for a “police courier” to collect the money so it could be returned to the account.

But by now the pensioner had seen through their lies and had contacted the real police.