Police are keen to speak to victims of an alleged bogus landlord who has is said to have fraudulently let out a flat in Plumstead despite not owning the property.
Up to 20 people have each been separately scammed out of deposits of thousands, say neighbours of the flat, on Shrewsbury Lane.
One victim is Christina Sheppard who said she saw the ad for the flat on the website Gumtree and that she paid a deposit of £1,500, which she fears she will never see again.
She said: "I met the landlord, or supposed landlord, and he gave me all the information.
"He said he had lots of people interested and it's just the first people who pay get it.
"With days before I moved in he said it wasn't available."
MORE: Fake landlady jailed for deposits scam with Gravesend flat
Neighbour John Smyth, 71, said others had come to the flat trying to move in after saying they had paid an average of £2,500 deposit.
He said: "I reckon we've had about 15 to 20 people who've been scammed by this particular organisation.
"We have had people sitting in our living room with tears in floods of tears. People have lost life savings.
"One woman was highly pregnant and another one had a month-old baby.
"I always wondered what it would be like to face an absolutely villain and this is what it's like. They are merciless bastards."
Ross Lydall, who is the actual landlord of the property, said he only found about the scam a couple of Saturdays ago and had to break the door open after the lock had been changed.
He said: "We were absolutely horrified to see this happen. It seems like a substantial criminal operation because it seems like a number of people have been showing up to show people around the property to scam them.
"The supposed landlord advertised to people who are on housing benefits so you have people who are in desperate situations. They are scamming people who are vulnerable and might have lost their life savings."
A spokesperson from Met Police confirmed officers had called in relation to an allegation of fraud and urged anyone else who had been impacted to come forward.
They said: "At present police have not been made aware of any further victims in relation to this premises and encourage any further victims to come forward."
Please call 101 if you are a victim or have any information in relation to this incident. To remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
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