Beware of this con

[supavan]

I had a really ka.... horrible thing happen to me yesterday and sharing the experience of this, I think, will hopefully stop this happening to someone else in future.

 

I had a cellphone that I put up for sale in the Junkmail. (I would advertised it here, but I'm one of those hubbers of the opinion that the hub is for cycling stuff).

 

Sure enough I received some responses and so arranged to meet up with some guy that called himself Samual. We were to meet at the Rosebank FNB at 12:30 on Thursday 26 June.

 

So I show up with the phone. Virtually brand new and still in it's original box (The cables and things have'nt even been unpacked). Sure enough Samual shows up (17 minutes late) and suggest we conduct our business inside the bank.

 

So we go in and I show him the phone wich he opens up and looks at etc.

Seemingly satisfied he askes me to write down my ID number on a piece of paper.

 

This is when I suspect he swapped the phone with a fake handset and packs everything back into the box (I even help without noticing).

 

He then tells me that he is just short of R500 and he's just going to go and draw the money quiclky. And so he's off.

 

As he leaves the door I get a feeling that something's not right. So I open the box and discover that the phone had been swapped.

 

Needless to say Samual is long gone and I'm out of pocket.

 

I have been beating myself up for how stupid I was for letting this happen to me, but this guy new exactly what he was doing.

 

My advice. If ever you end up selling a phone just be carefull and visually ensure that you have what you think you have before letting the buyer out of site.

 

Those upgrades to my bike will have to wait...

[Zaskar]

This is the third time ive heard of this happening! Just got to be so careful and alert!!!

Funny thing is why did he need your ID number? If its a cash transaction then its just a simple swap, the cash for the goods? Obviously just a tactic to divert your attention from the phone!

 

Similar thing happened to me once in the UK. Was drawing 200 pounds out the ATM, and as the money comes out, i get tapped on the shoulder and a guy says i dropped 10 pounds! Sure enough there is a ten pound note between my legs, but i know for sure its not mine as i had no cash on me! I didnt move at all, just took my cash and said it wasnt mine. As this was happening i remembered a story i heard about a scam where two guys work together, and as you get distracted and pick the note off the floor the other guys moves in and takes your money from the machine! Pretty simple and i guess effective, but i was just lucky that i knew ithe note was not mine and that i remembered the story at that exact moment!

 

Moral of your story though, sell your phone on the hub! If its for bike upgrades, it cycling related, and is justified!

[Speed Devil]

 

Moral of your story though' date=' sell your phone on the hub! If its for bike upgrades, it cycling related, and is justified!

[/quote']

 

I agree. If anything is in the name of cyling then it is allowed here. Afterall we all need a few evtra bucks to support our addiction

[Savage]

Very unfortunate to here.  Report the phone as stolen en let them block it on the phone identity. Every phone has its own identity and by doing this he will not be able to use it.

[widget]

Unfortunately, we have to treat everybody these days as criminals, when in reality its probably less than 1% of the population behaving this way.

 

Dont beat yourself up over it, we all make mistakes and get "taken" from time to time, there are still a lot of honourable people out there. 

[DRIVETRAIN]

Cash in hand first - thank U very much !!

 

'DT"

 

[Peet]

Why dont you let the police watch the CCTV video from the bank, and catch the bastard!

[javadude]

 

And so we learn. Like Widget said, we have all been victims like this in one way or another and you can't change the past, just learn from it for the future.

 

That guy who took your phone might feel quite smug about his brilliant act of deception, but karma will get him in the end, guaranteed!

velo2008-06-27 01:31:09

[Sabre484]

Please report the incident to the FNB branch manager of even better if you can get the number of their security department. The banks does not take lightly to have fraudsters operate on their premises. Also enquire if they could possibly obtain a photo of the culprit of their surveillance system. If they can and they probably will they could even do an investigation due to possible identity theft that might have occured. If they are able to give you photos also report it to centre management and unfortunately the SAPS. Hopefully this is the guy's modus operandi and you never know he might just get caught. All banks carry and sometimes share a database of possible or know fraudster and robbers.

 

Sorry about your loss

[Poison Ivy]

and what happend to your ID number......?

[Sammajoor]

Place another ad for another phone and see if Samuel does not try and steal that one to have a few mates waitning in the bank and as he does the swop NAIL him.

 

If he is caught and you can prove the IEMI nr on the phone, he is in possession of stolen property and you can flame his @ss.

 

Just an idea

 

[paulvs]

 

Place another ad for another phone and see if Samuel does not try and steal that one to have a few mates waitning in the bank and as he does the swop NAIL him.

 

If he is caught and you can prove the IEMI nr on the phone' date=' he is in possession of stolen property and you can flame his @ss.

 

Just an idea

 

[/quote']

 

 

yeah let's setup a trap....

 

 

 

 

[1hill@aTime]

This exact same thing happened to a mate of mine that i work with, i think you should speak to the cops and set up a trap and catch this guy.

[Saffa_G]

 

I had a really ka.... horrible thing happen to me yesterday and sharing the experience of this' date=' I think, will hopefully stop this happening to someone else in future........[/quote']

 

heard that before, bad luck man, keep being suspicious....

 

[Buff]

I'm assuming the phone never had a SIM in it but it not be aware of the following:

 

SIM swaps
Please be aware of this scam which involves fraudsters convincing cellular operators to perform a SIM swap on your number ? which could then be used in combination with phishing attacks to execute fraudulent activities.

If your SIM is swapped illegally, the fraudster will be able to hijack all incoming SMSs, including random verification numbers, leaving you without access to the network. If your cellphone loses signal for no obvious reason, it is important to contact your cellular service provider immediately to find out if a SIM swap has been performed.

[TNT1]

 

If your cellphone loses signal for no obvious reason' date=' it is important to contact your cellular service provider immediately to find out if a SIM swap has been performed.

[/quote']

 

Or you might just be using MTN...