Detectives are investigating the case of a fake landlord who has conned tenants out of deposit money.

So far they have traced 12 victims who have lost over £20,000. In one case the alleged fraudster, who called himself Mustafa Bhatt, was caught on CCTV when he walked one victim to a bank so she could withdraw £4,000.

One couple, Olina Zajickova and her boyfriend Duncan Weir, said they had found a flat in Islington, London, on Zoopla. It is unclear how the couple could have made contact with the fake landlord and Zoopla said it could not confirm whether the property had been on its site.

The tenants say they signed an agreement and were given the keys, but when they arrived at the flat they were met by the real landlord.

He told them that so many hopeful tenants had arrived at the property he had had to change the locks.

Detective Inspector Rita Tierney from Islington CID said: “We have spoken to a number of concerned young adults, some from overseas, who have been defrauded of their savings by this unscrupulous man, and we are keen to identify him as soon as possible.”

So-called Mustafa Bhatt is described by police as an Asian man in his 30s with short black hair and a short beard, and wearing dark framed glasses.

Anyone with any information about the fraud is asked to call 101 quoting 2721069/14 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

There have been previous such instances, but these have notoriously involved private adverts on Gumtree. Action Fraud has a warning on its site dated 2010 which specifically warns that would-be tenants lost money after replying to a wave of bogus adverts for rental accommodation on Gumtree.

One similar sounding case also occurred in Islington in 2012, involving a fraudster described as a well-spoken Asian man. He duped some 28 people into handing over deposits of thousands of pounds.

We invited Zoopla to comment on the current case, where the tenants say they found the property on the site.

A spokesperson for Zoopla said: “Without details of the property, we are unable to confirm if this is the case or which letting agent had advertised the property with us.”

ITV has the story here

The London Standard carries a story here

Action Fraud has advice here