Scammer - BEN61

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evan.fraser.274
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Scammer - BEN61

Post by evan.fraser.274 »

A warning to everyone:

There is a scammer on the loose in here, goes by the member name of BEN61. He uses the following gmail addresses/forum names:

1. sidneysbotha@gmail.com (cell number 073-266-8052) : says he is Sidney Botha and claims to be from a game park in the Free State
2. benvstraaten61@gmail.com (cell number 060 457 8202): says he is Benjamin van Straaten
3. Leonvr (Cell number 073 640 3926): says he is Francois Le Roux
4. He also has the audacity to use the gmail address aircooledvwsa@gmail.com!

I have reported 1 and 3 to GMAIL, but I have some sage advise for everyone now that I have been burned myself:

1. Ask for pics of the items taken in the open and new (not pics that could easily be downloaded from e-bay)
2. Buy local to you and ask to meet in a public place to view the item; if he isn't local, arrange for someone in the area to view for you
3. Before you make the payment ask him to confirm his address using a WhatsApp pin drop
4. Ask for legitimate banking details and - if he provides these - a copy of his ID
5. NEVER pay to a cell phone number via an e-Wallet
6. If you can't make an EFT then ask him for a PayPal account and provide your e-mail address so he can generate an invoice and payment via PayPal.
7. Lastly, research his legitimacy on the forum; if I had ONLY taken the time to check I would have discovered the posts from all of you and saved myself the loss of R900! :oops:

Sadly it has come to this: you can't trust ANYONE...and there is no guarantee anymore so if he can't wait for his payment via PayPal or provide convincing proof of life, then it's simply not worth buying from him!

Feel free to add to this post and ensure that we track all the scammers on here and Gumtree/OLX/BidorBuy, etc...at least we will have a common thread to revert to in need.
Last edited by evan.fraser.274 on Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.


Given enough time and money, anything is possible...
Terry Phillips
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Re: Scammer - BEN61

Post by Terry Phillips »

Thanks Evan sorry you got taken.
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Re: Scammer - BEN61

Post by AlanH »

Sorry you got taken.

Please be aware that a copy of ID unfortunately does not mean much. A few years ago I was taken by someone who I saw in person and made a copy of his legit ID.
Only after I was taken I checked if his ID was indeed legit and it was checked on the voters role. Even had an address which turned out to be non existent number in correct Street.
Later found out he travels around a lot and has taken big department stores as well all over the country.
Made a case with the police which probably filed the case in file 13 as I never heard anything again.
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Re: Scammer - BEN61

Post by Eugene »

This is the same guy and he is actively scanning and scamming this forum. We need to open a case with the police but it would take somebody to know somebody as in general they don't care. When he withdraws from ATMs, the cops can get his photo at least and somewhere to start.
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evan.fraser.274
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Re: Scammer - BEN61

Post by evan.fraser.274 »

Thanks Eugene; I am opening a case today and will post my case number on here as well.
Given enough time and money, anything is possible...
Terry Phillips
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Re: Scammer - BEN61

Post by Terry Phillips »

The thing is there could be 10 other charges against him so I would lay charges at least there is a chance he could get arrested and all the charges will turn up on investigation,the thing is if you leave it then he will keep on catching people roaming free.
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Re: Scammer - BEN61

Post by Ricoffy »

It is truly sad that these things happen.

And the police usually don't (can't) do much and usually the file ends up in the POL90 cabinet (the dustbin).
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