Croydon's banks are being urged to help the council catch building bandits and rogue traders.

Recently, vulnerable people have been tricked out of their savings through building scams, promises of large foreign lottery wins or surprise inheritances.

The Trading Standards team will be asking banks to look out for suspicious activity such as large transfers to foreign accounts or withdrawals of unusual amounts of cash.

A 57-year-old Selhurst man was visited by two bogus builders who claimed to be working on the house next door.

The men, one in their late twenties and the other in their mid thirties with strong Irish accents, told the divorcee they suspected a damp problem was originating from his home and asked if they could come in to investigate.

Within hours they had pulled off doors and door frames, ripped out a radiator, pulled plaster off the walls and made a large hole in the ceiling. They had also pocketed £2,000 in cash and given an estimate of £12,000 to complete the work.

Alan Philips, Croydon’s trading standards team manager, said: “Vigilant bank employees can be the last line of defence in these cases. We have had several recent tip-offs that have helped us to save people money and bring about prosecutions.

“By reminding Croydon’s banks of what an important role they have to play I hope we can really cut down on this sort of crime in the borough.”

Councillor Steve O’Connell, cabinet member for safety, said: “We know that this year alone we have been able to save residents nearly £70,000 after getting tip-offs from local banks about suspicious transactions. However I am sure that a lot of this crime goes unreported. Our advice is to never let tradesmen into your home uninvited. But we know that some of these rogue traders can be very convincing, so it’s really important that people look out for anyone who might be trying to take advantage of someone who could be vulnerable to these scams. ”

Have you been caught out by a rogue trader? Tell us by calling the newsdesk on 0208 330 9559.