A scam artist is said to be travelling the country scamming farmers out of substantial sums of cash.

The Irish Farmers Journal reports that as many as 30 farmers have handed over ‘deposits’ of between €1,000 and €20,000 to the con artist to build a farm shed.

According to the report, €140,000 has been scammed by the individual from unsuspecting farmers.

One Co Cork farmer who lost €5,000 to the fraudster herself appealed online for anyone with any information or experience of the con artist to come forward.

She has been inundated with callers since the weekend. “

This man is taking money from decent hard-working people like ourselves and we want to stop him,” the farmer, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“We want to gather together all the evidence and make sure he faces the consequences.”

The fraudster, who operates under multiple constantly changing company names, is a convincing seller. “He is a great man to talk. He was in my home and you would think he is the most genuine fellow you could meet,” she said.