A "SMILING, courteous” scammer who preyed on elderly residents including a 96-year-old man and helped con them out of nearly £150,000 has been jailed.

For five months, Amy Molloy toured England as she visited elderly people to collect their bank cards after an accomplice masquerading as representing their bank had persuaded them that they were compromised, said Andrew Finlay prosecuting.

She used the cards to withdraw money from the victims’ bank accounts or spend it on high value products from Apple stores, York Crown Court heard.

One North Yorkshire victim described how Molloy’s actions had made her feel “stupid” and darkened the final days of her husband’s life.

She said she couldn’t believe how “someone could arrive at the door smiling and courteous” to carry out the fraud.

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Molloy told a friend: “I am scamming people for money. It is my main source of money,” Mr Finlay said.

Judge Simon Hickey told her: “For scamming such elderly victims for that period using your car to travel to different areas appropriate punishment can only be achieved by an immediate custodial sentence.” He jailed her for two years.

The six victims targeted by the scam were aged 96, 95, 93, 86, 79 and 70 years old and lived in North Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Cheshire, York Crown Court heard.

Through her barrister Gemma Noble, Molloy claimed that she didn’t realise the age of the victims, but the judge said she must have done.

Molloy, of Thomas Way, Braintree, Essex, pleaded guilty to five charges of fraud by false representation to obtain bank cards, three charges of fraud by using the cards, two of theft by using the cards on cash dispensers and one of having criminal cash.

In her basis of plea, she said that she had acted under the instructions of a man who had told her where to collect the cards and where to use them and who took the money and items bought with them off her. The man had then paid her sums such as £500. She didn’t know how the victims’ details were obtained.

Mr Finlay said the victims in total had lost £146,834 but Molloy was only responsible for £27,626.

She was arrested by North Yorkshire Police’s economic crime unit and charged.

Ms Noble said in total Molloy had benefited by about £4,000.

She had stopped after December 2021 because she had been feeling guilty about what she was doing and didn’t want to continue. She had no previous convictions.

She now lives on universal credit and was planning to make a living through her own business selling digital designs online.