Cold calling fraudsters and rogue traders are inflicting “misery and upset” on people across Islington, including one householder who was defrauded of £100,000.

Police are investigating after a person was duped out of the huge sum by a callous cold caller who promised work they never did and stole the cash.

Islington’s Trading Standards team is deploying a new tactic to tackle rogue traders – when a cold caller scam is reported, it contacts nearby homes warning them to be vigilant.

The council received 29 doorstep selling complaints so far this year. And just this month it intervened to save someone £11,000 in roof repairs following an inflated cold caller quote.

Islington’s crime chief Cllr Andy Hull said: “Rogue traders and cold callers often prey on vulnerable people, and can cause huge misery and upset.

“We will continue to investigate and take action on all reports of rogue traders in Islington.

“We are urging residents not to buy from cold callers saying they need to carry out work or offering to do work unannounced.”

Scam artists often hustle people by offering low prices for property maintenance work – but they then prolong the project and increase the cost by pretending other repairs need doing. The work’s typically shoddy.

Islington Trading Standards suggests people source workers through a trader trusted scheme recommended by the council, such as Which? Trusted Traders.

It also advises getting three quotes before committing to a trader.

You can very cautious about anyone who tells you unannounced you need work on your home and do not agree to having work done by them

If you need advice or want to report a trader to Trading Standards, phone 03454 04 05 06.