Scammer alert.

[method1]

One of our members, @SamuraiTheVapor, real name can be made available on request - has been using false proof of payment to try and scam many of the supporting vendors, some for upwards of R4000, and myself for R530

His general M.O. is to place an order, and then send a doctored screenshot of a PoP to the vendor.

A few of us have been taken for a ride this way, and it seems he's tried his luck with most of the vendors.

He has a stock response about ABSA having problems when queried. Most of the vendors have received similar mails.

After threats being made, I believe the majority of us have now been paid what's owed.

This is a warning to other vendors and members who may not know about this, or anyone dealing with him in future. He currently has a long list of items for sale in the classifieds and I urge caution when dealing with him.

I will share my communications with him to show how things went down if requested to do so.

Any other vendors (and mods) who have had the same experience please chime in here.

@SamuraiTheVapor, consider this an intervention, falsifying financial documents is fraud, irrespective if you own up when caught. Between the vendors here there is enough evidence to have you criminally charged. Get help ... NOW!

@ShaneW @BigB @BigGuy @Zeki Hilmi @Sir Vape @VapeGrrl @Gizmo @SAVapeGear @drew @Oupa @AndreFerreira @JakesSA

 

[Mike]

This is such a sad development. I'd heard the rumours about this guy over the past few months / weeks, so I've been very cautious of dealing with him.

It's a shame, as the community is generally so tight, supportive and helpful, and this guy has now ruined things for many other people. I am now in a position where I feel I need to confirm that all EFTs made to my account clear before I send things off. Sure it's good practice, but of the roughly 150 sales I've done through the forum, I've not had a single issue. I'm sure other vendors feel the same way, having some good faith in people and trusting to do business with just a PoP and will now certainly also be more careful of these things.

Hopefully we can pull together as a community and recreate that good faith soon.

 

[MetalGearX]

It takes just one idiot to ruin it for everyone. I have been surprised by the level of trust the vendors have with the community and it was exemplary the faith and trust that both vendor and buyer have and here comes along one single individual with low or zero moral values to ruin the trust for everyone. I hope he get banned and arrested.

 

[n0ugh7_zw]

that sucks...

 

[zadiac]

As I have told some vendors, I will gladly assist them in compiling the correct statements for opening a criminal case. I cannot open the case as it needs to be done at the station where the vendor is situated, but I can help with the statement and make sure the correct information is in the docket. Vendors that want to go this way can pm me and I will help. I hope it doesn't come to that and that he will pay all he owes.

 

[Alex]

Name and shame

Post his real name.

This guy needs to have his ip banned.

We should have a banned member section.

We will not mention his real name on here.

 

[ShaneW]

We were unfortunately also scammed by this guy...
Since our inception we've been surrounded by incredible customers, a lot of which have become friends and some even really good friends.
This unfortunately causes you to become relaxed when it comes to payment, and often send out orders without waiting for proof of payment just to make sure orders are received in time. I know it's poor business practice but you always think the best of people when it's a community based venture like this...

Well this all fell apart 2 weeks ago when we realised what had happened. We received a fake proof of payment and sent out the order without thinking much of it.
As a result we are now having to wait for all payments to clear in our account 1st... This now affects our Sameday and overnight facility to all our customers. Apologies to all customers, I hope you understand the situation.

We've been holding off on taking this public as there were a few vendors that he still owed money to, but it seems as he has now settled most of his dodgy deals. Be that as it may, scamming in excess of 15k, whether it was paid back after threats or not is still a serious offense.

I really hope he gets help.. I can only see one logical end to this story if he doesn't

 

[method1]

We've taken the decision not to release his name for sound reasons, this post should serve to help forum members avoid dealings they'd later regret.

Vendors who suspect something strange can contact those of us who have had experience with samurai for his details.

 

[kev mac]

One of our members, @SamuraiTheVapor, real name can be made available on request - has been using false proof of payment to try and scam many of the supporting vendors, some for upwards of R4000, and myself for R530

His general M.O. is to place an order, and then send a doctored screenshot of a PoP to the vendor.

A few of us have been taken for a ride this way, and it seems he's tried his luck with most of the vendors.

He has a stock response about ABSA having problems when queried. Most of the vendors have received similar mails.

After threats being made, I believe the majority of us have now been paid what's owed.

This is a warning to other vendors and members who may not know about this, or anyone dealing with him in future. He currently has a long list of items for sale in the classifieds and I urge caution when dealing with him.

I will share my communications with him to show how things went down if requested to do so.

Any other vendors (and mods) who have had the same experience please chime in here.

@SamuraiTheVapor, consider this an intervention, falsifying financial documents is fraud, irrespective if you own up when caught. Between the vendors here there is enough evidence to have you criminally charged. Get help ... NOW!

@ShaneW @BigB @BigGuy @Zeki Hilmi @Sir Vape @VapeGrrl @Gizmo @SAVapeGear @drew @Oupa @AndreFerreira @JakesSA

What a downer,as an older forum member I have found this cite to be an oasis of trust and good will something this world truly lacks.But one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole barrel.Sorry to the venders and members who had their trust ruined by this tool.

 

[Tristan]

Eish @SamuraiTheVapor

and GLWS!
Seems you gonna need it.

 

[Lex Aer]

As a new vaper and new member to the forum I have enjoyed the openness and sense of community experienced and shared by all. All the vendors I have dealt with have been amazing and I have not had a single issue at all, to such an extent that I am happy to putchase items on consignment. The mutual trust and sense of community is? amazing. I am shattered by what has happened as this will no doubt impact to some extent on members' mutual trust. Perhaps we need to consider some form of rating or control measures to minimise delinquent "members".

 

[blujeenz]

I usually send eft payment proof as a pdf document(nedbank option) which is much harder to edit.
Jpg's and bmp's ie screenprints, are a problem because of the ease to falsifiy them in MS paint even, let alone adobe photoshop.

FWIW

 

[groovyvaperman]

My father has a shop. He used to have this customer come in everyday and order things from him and then walk over to my uncle and order things there and order a few more things from my father to the total of 250 odd bucks everyday for a few months until one day my dad asked my uncle if he paid him turns out the bugger hadn't ever paid and had been able to make off with R50000 worth of food and cigarettes he was caught in the end. Moral of the story no payment no service

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

 

[element0709]

Wow, took abit long for this to be posted. Ppl are still very nice here...if this was on like carbonite forum or something....there would be a call for manhunt.
Such nice community, but there will always be someone to ruin it...

 

[n0ugh7_zw]

It's a real eye opener to be honest.

Don't get me wrong, having a trusting community is really awesome, and I wish we lived in a world where such a thing wouldn't get pissed on by shady characters.

Up here where things are economically a lot more desperate for a lot of people, trust just doesn't even enter into it. if the money isn't with the vendor, then, thats that. no product is to be had. Things like credit, or even trust in terms of believing that a payment in transit, are perks only earned after extended relations between vendor and client. It's just too risky otherwise.

I think thats kinda fair. If you've been a client in good standing for a reasonable amount of time, then I think being allowed a little wiggle room is fine. Newer clients really shouldn't get aggravated by this, and infact if they do, its probably a sign that they're up to no good.

I think what I'm trying to say is that trust should be a thing thats earned, not given away. It's only prudent.

 

[n0ugh7_zw]

As far as EFT's and such go.

Up here, and in a lot of other African countries (Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda come to mind), we have many options for instant payments.

With the services up here, the transaction limit is $500.00 (per transaction) and you can pay it to someone, and they'll receive it in literally seconds. I'm not to sure if anything like that exists in SA? The charges for this kind of service are pretty small in comparison to the peace of mind they offer. Here to send $500.00 to a merchant costs a flat fee of $1.00.

I suppose another way would be to be upfront, and tell clients, that if they pay by credit/debit card, then processing will be way quicker. But if they use EFT, then they need to wait for the payment to clear, before the order is processed.

 

[Viper_SA]

I just always send the PoP from the banking site to the vendor's email addy. That way thw communication is not from myself, and cannot have been altered at all.

 

[ZeeZi169]

It takes one IDIOT to screw things up in this great community of ours (sigh)

Sent from my SM-A500F using Tapatalk

 

[rogue zombie]

Ye exactly, Proof of Payment from your banking site. Costs you a couple of bucks but everyone involved knows it's legit.

But still, I'm sure there are ways around this.

This is piss poor form. An accounts lady at my work almost lost her job for trusting a payment went through. In this tough economical environment, you really shouldn't be screwing with people's difficult to come by livelihood. We have enough crime to deal with ffs!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[Marzuq]

It's a sad day when someone tries to rip this community off. This place has been instrumental in aiding many vapers off stinkies and onto a better alternative. Relationships have been built and I personally trust people on this forum and have on many occasions sold items and sent it off before receiving payment. Now this is no longer possible because of one person can do it then surely it becomes more than a possibility. So thanks bud for taking away the trust that has been built in relationships on the forum since it started.

 

[DaveH]

I'm wondering why he is still a member of this forum.
Dave

 

[whatalotigot]

Yes he is still a member. Well. Everybody is going to be on his case now. How do you think you will get away with this, with such a small close community @SamuraiTheVapor

I dont think anyone will be dealing with him from now on!

 

[Tom. F]

I wouldn't expect this from such an active forum member. I just hope crap like this doesn't start to seep into this forum we all love. Theres always going to be bad apples. Its sad that it has to come to public naming and shaming but if it saves even one other person from being scammed then I suppose it has to be done.

 

[DougP]

Guys watch this man he has scammed vendors for thousands of rands.
He also uses other aliases so do your homework
What really surprises me is that everybody talks about this but he is allowed to actively participate in this forum and sell items in classifieds (which read between the lines for those of you buying stuff from him)



Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Wyvern]

Could someone just pm me his aliases and real name - since I am one of those who trust sellers easily - I have never been scammed, but it seems to be a common occurrence all over these days - I rather be safe than sorry.