Stolen Kit – Peer to Peer Rental

The following kit has been stolen from a renter using a peer to peer rental website.

We advise against using P2P sites.  You might make a few pounds renting out your kit, but users are generally not properly vetted, and there is a serious risk you will lose everything, as happened below:

 

Name used: Jemima Morakinyo (Note:  This may be a pseudonym, or the identity documents of an innocent person with that name may have been used.)

Police details and crime number: 0311096/18

 

The kit was hired out through a peer to peer rental site called motion tribe.

 

Users sign up with their ID and their information and then all insurance and payments are made through the company.

 

An enquiry was made for my kit which seemed legitimate. However, as all the details are through the company I was unable to verify personally. You have to trust the security procedures of the business.

 

When they came to pick up the kit they seemed to not fully know about the settings which seemed dodgy but the rental terms had already been agreed, and they had already paid the company for use of the camera.

 

Of course, once the hire was made the person stopped replying to email and text messages and the kit hasn’t been delivered back.

 

Kit List

Description         Serial

Canon C300 Mark II, EF Mount Body        961100000031

Canon C300 Mark II, Monitor Unit            N/A

Canon C300 Mark II, Eye cup       N/A

Canon UN-10 Auxiliary cable       N/A

Canon UN-10 Auxiliary cable       N/A

Canon C300 Mark II, Top Handle                N/A

Canon C300 Mark II, Control Grip              N/A

Canon top handle screws x 2      N/A

Canon Allen Key               N/A

Canon BP-A60   201509A

Canon BP-A60   201703B

Canon BP-A30   2001509A

Canon CG-A10 Battery Charger  8985

IEC Mains Connector      N/A

Delkin CFast 2.0 256gb Media     05011725781

Delkin CFast 2.0 256gb Media     11271725781

SanDisk 64GB Extreme SD card  BN1603550750G

Yellow CFast Neewer Card Box  N/A

Lexar Professional Workflow CR1 CFast card reader with USB cable          24050272201392

Pellican 1510 Case Black N/A

Sony ECM-NV1 Top Mic N/A

If you see any of this kit, contact Xhire, or your local Police.

British thief in the US

A thief using UK ID documents in the name of ‘Matthew David Dines’ has rented lenses worth $250000 and not returned them.
Important note:  It is entirely possible that ‘Matthew David Dines’ is a pseudonym, or that a real individual with that name has  been the victim of identity theft.  Nothing  on this site should in any way be taken as indicative of the guilt or innocence, (or the involvement in fraudulent activity), of anyone whose details are published here.

The following items have gone missing:

24-290mm Optimo Zoom s/n: 2017192
18mm Master Prime s/n: 8926393
25mm Master Prime s/n: 8934692
35mm Master Prime s/n: 8926426
50mm Master Prime s/n: 8926344
75mm Master Prime s/n: 8926350
100mm Master Prime s/n: 8942023

CCTV images of the suspected thief:

 

deaines1 deaines2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you see this person, or any of the lenses listed above, please call your local police or contact Xhire.

‘Jamie Cairns’ Again

Received by web form:

Important note:  It is entirely possible that ‘Jamie Cairns’ is a pseudonym, or that a real individual with that name has  been the victim of identity theft.  Nothing  on this site should in any way be taken as indicative of the guilt or innocence, (or the involvement in fraudulent activity), of anyone whose details are published here.

Your Name         : Hugh Jones

Your organisation : HPSS Ltd

Telephone         : 01482 221810

E-mail Address    : hugh@hpss.co.uk

Name(s) of fraudulent hirer.: ‘Jamie Cairns’ (May be a pseudonym)

Name of fraudulent organisation, address and website if available: Personal Jamiecarins@gmail.com

List the main items of kit stolen.:

Pioneer CDJ 2000 Nexus – LHMP000238YY

Pioneer CDJ 2000 Nexus – LHMP000125YY

Pioneer DJM900 Nexus – LFMP006837YY

Technics 1210Mk3 – GE2HA001383

Technics 1210Mk3 – GE2IA001176

Shure M44-7

How was the fraud carried out?  Please supply as much detail as possible.: Hirer emailed and produced very convincing ID Passport number 309432152

Police details and crime number: Humberside police Number DV-2245732-17

Any other information you wish to share with the broadcast hire community: I have  pictures and  copies of ID which I will email separately. (See below.)

IMG_1840The person pictured rented equipment and did not return it.

Click on the thumbnail for full sized image.

Grey Audi A3 (Again)

Received by webform:  Another theft, involving a Grey Audi

Your name         : Peter

E-mail Address    : pete@avehire.co.uk

Your organisation (including web address if available): AVE Hire – Sound, Lighting, Vision www.avehire.co.uk

Name, address, URL, email and phone number of suspected hirer: Tyrel Angell, Jamie Angell. 07521171062

tylerangell2006@gmail.com

1 CARPENTER CLOSE, BURY ST EDMUNDS, IP31 2FX

.Important note:  It is entirely possible that the names used in this theft are pseudonyms, or that real individuals with those names have  been the victims of identity theft.  Nothing  on this site should in any way be taken as indicative of the guilt or innocence, (or the involvement in fraudulent activity), of anyone whose details are published here.

 

 Date of attempted hire: 2017/01/17

What equipment was involved?:

– 2x Pioneer CDJ 2000 Nexus (serial numbers: OIMP051949YY and OIMP051948YY)

– 2x Pioneer CDJ 900 Nexus (serial numbers: MLMP002354YY and MKMP001463YY)

– 1x Pioneer DJM 900 Nexus mixer (serial number: MIMP013888YY)

– all equipment was in flight cases

Did you decline to rent  equipment?: No, all information was correct. We requested payment by card. The name on the card matched the name on Tyrel’s driving licence and the photo on a driving licence was correct and matched  Tyrel Angell.

Any other information you wish to share with the broadcast hire community.: Thief is driving grey audi a3, reg no: ET55 HGB

 

 

Oberon Recycling Ltd

The Flash Centre in Birmingham have been victims of a fraudulent hire from a company using the name of a legitimate – albeit potentially mothballed business called Oberon Recycling.

The first approach was made by telephone and several calls to arrange details went back and forth.

A company account was set up and goods were delivered to a unit at a local creative centre.

The hire was for a period of two weeks with the goods due back on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, the goods were not returned and all contact details for the hirer are now dead.

The names being used were Stephen Jennings and Alan Larkin.

Items taken were as follows:

Canon C300 # 533440200419
Canon 5Dmk4 #023021001703
Canon 5Dmk4 #22007825
EF 24-105mm lens #398880
EF 24-70 2.8 lens #5000409
EF 70-200 2.8 lens #137041
2x DJI Ronin M #DJ211918222390
2x Gopro Hero 5 Blacks
Zoom H6 kit #00025147

If you have any information regarding this theft, please contact Kevin Threadwell on 0121 3279220

‘Mohamed Farah’ and ‘Gavin’

ProVision in Manchester have been hit by a fraudulent hire.

Items taken are:

  • Canon 5D MK3 – S/N 053024013534
  • Canon 5D MK3 – S/N 053024013535
  • Sony A7S Mk1 – S/N 3772425
  • Canon 16-35mm – S/N 6390919
  • Canon 16-35mm – S/N 2182859
  • Canon 24-70mm – S/N 439992
  • Canon 24-105mm – S/N 6587395
  • Canon 70-200mm – S/N 3160000378

The kit stolen bears remarkable similarities to the kit stolen from 247kit and the vehicle used to collect was the same type, albeit a different registration. Before now the fraudsters have used stolen cars with fake plates.

‘Gavin’ called to make an initial booking which his colleague a gent using the name ‘Mohamed Farah’would be collecting, they made several calls to add extra items.

‘Mohamed’ (photo below) came to collect, provided a passport for ID and made payment via debit card which all went through with no problem.
He collected in a grey (could have been dark blue) Audi A3, ET55 HBG.
The details used in this theft are as follows:  ‘Mohamed Farah, 159 Kingsley Road, Liverpool, L8 2XQ 07845685042  Mo-23@hotmail.co.uk’
Important note:  It is entirely possible that ‘Mohammed Farah’ is a pseudonym, or that the real Mr Farah has been the victim of identity theft.  Nothing  on this site should in any way be taken as indicative of the guilt or innocence, (or the involvement in fraudulent activity), of anyone whose details are published here.

If you have any information regarding this theft, please contact Mark Wallace on 0161 952 1978

Screen Shot 2017-01-16 at 13.25.05

 

‘Phillip McKinnell’ and ‘Caroline Roberts’

247Kit have been the victims of what may be a fraudulent hire. Since hiring, the client has not returned the kit or responded to phone calls or emails.

Itms taken were as follows :

Canon 5DMKIII                 13023000390

Canon 5DMKIII                 13023001091

Canon EF 16-35                 4431316

Canon EF 16-35                 9730237

Canon EF 24-70                 3125002367

Canon EF 24-70                 3125002362

Canon EF 70-200               306001244

Canon EF 70-200               306001245

 

Manfrotto 504HD             F0413960

Manfrotto 504HD             F1246201

The cameras were in distinctive Urban Camo Portabrace bags and the lenses were in 2x  custom Tan 3 lens cut-out Pelicases.

Kit was booked by an individual using the name “Phillip McKinnnell” of 64 Winfield road, Lakenheath, IP27 9HR and was collected by his supposed girlfriend who used the name “Caroline Roberts” (in a dark blue Audi – reg GY54 YYG).Important note:  It is entirely possible that ‘Mr McKinnell’ or ‘Miss Roberts’ are pseudonyms, or that real individuals with those names have  been the victims of identity theft.  Nothing  on this site should in any way be taken as indicative of the guilt or innocence, (or the involvement in fraudulent activity), of anyone whose details are published here.

Phone number given was  07845939203 and email phillipmck2005@gmail.com

If you have any information regarding this matter, especially the whereabouts of Ms Roberts, please contact Greg at 247Kit on 020 7631 4455, hire@247kit.tv www.247kit.tv

 

 

 

This is “Ms Roberts” , who collected the kit which has not been returned.
screen-shot-2017-01-11-at-14-53-52

Fraudulent Hire – Identity Theft

The following items have been rented and not returned by a hirer using genuine ID documents which were stolen. The person whose documents were stolen, Aaron McNeish is a victim of identity theft, and is entirely innocent of any wrongdoing:  He is in no way involved.

If you come across any of the items below, please contact Xhire or your local police.

RED scarlet SCARLET-X W/SIDE SSD AND LENS MOUNT 038842
4 x redvolt battery packs
2 x travel chargers
RED touch LCD screen
RED side handle
RED Outrigger Handle
4 x REDMAG SSD
RED station reader
RED rear module cap
Portabrace DV4 case
Explorer 5833 case
CANON 24-70mm zoom lens 9515004950
CANON 24-70mm zoom lens 0210007877
CANON 70-200mm zoom lens 0430001368
CANON 5D mk3 body 038023003879
2 x CANON LP-E6 batteries
2 x SANDISK 32GB CF cards
Explorer 4412 case
SONY UWP-V1 radio mic kit
RODE lav mic
Sachtler Video 18 tripod
Sachtler hard case

Fraudulent Hire – Reel Nice

The production company Reel Nice have been victims of a fraudulent hire.

The goods were hired by a man using the name Oliver Woodbridge – although this is believed to be false.

 

 

The goods hired and not returned are as follows:

 

Piece Serial Number
Canon C300 EF Mount 533470700155
Canon 16-35mm f2.8 9710414
Canon 24-70mm f2.8 213407311
Canon 50mm f1.4 52107930
Canon 70-200mm f2.8 Old model.

 

There was also a boom mic.

The goods were in a  fairly distinctive Crumpler Sinking Barge camera bag – like this one.

41qx03XWugL._SX425_

 

If you have any information regarding the location of any of these items or the identity of ‘Mr Woodbridge’, please contact Will Francome on 07738015981 or will@reelnice.co.uk .

 

Fraudulent hire – Calumet –

Calumet have had a Canon 1DC stolen.

The hirer’s ID checked out as valid, a deposit was left.

The delivery did not take place in quite the agreed manner, so proof of access to the client’s address has not been confirmed.

The stolen item is:

Canon 1DC Serial; 083012000049 in a Peli style case and our distinive red/black custom foam insert with Sandisk 64GB card.

The hirer  had a Portuguese national ID card.  It is not known if the identity documents are genuine.

If contacted by anyone using the name or documents shown here, please  contact us,  or Simon Browitt at Calumet.

 

 

Shoot HD and One Stop Films

Two companies, Shoot HD and One Stop FIlms have been the victims of the same fraudulent hirer.

We have been requested to remove the full details of the theft by the City of London Police, but the stolen kit list has been posted in case any of it turns up somewhere.

If you have any information regarding any of these people or this theft, please contact Paul Hellard at Shoot HD on (0)1753 651440.

The stolen equipment from Shoot HD is listed below.

Flight case:
ARRI AMIRA #2 (Premium) 1 ARRI AMIRA Camera body, handle 15197
1 ARRI MVF-1 Viewfinder 1155
1 Hawk-Woods VL-CFA2 V-lock battery adapter
1 ARRI PL LDS lens mount
1 ARRI WPA-1 Wedge plate adapter for 15mm with shoulder pad
1 SanDisk 8GB memory stick
1 Canon Microphone mount with White Noise bracket
1 Panasonic Stereo microphone with foam gag
2 Viewfinder cable (mini HDMI)
1 ARRI KC50-S AMIRA battery cable
1 Sandisk Extreme Pro Cfast 2.0 card 120GB, with case 141501300007
1 Sandisk Extreme Pro Cfast 2.0 card 120GB, with case 141501300052
1 Sandisk Extreme Pro Cfast 2.0 card 120GB, with case 141501300102
1 Sandisk Extreme Pro Cfast 2.0 card reader (USB3), with USB cable
1 ARRI Dovetail plate
2 19mm bar (440mm)
2 19mm bar (200mm)
2 15mm bar (240mm)
1 Ronford-Baker Moose bars
1 ARRI Digi-Cine Sony to 19mm bridge adaptor plate
Peli case:
IDX Battery Kit #1 1 IDX Endura E-HL9 88Wh Li-ion V-mount battery E463212
1 IDX Endura E-HL9 88Wh Li-ion V-mount battery E463494
1 IDX Endura E-HL9 88Wh Li-ion V-mount battery E463495
1 IDX Endura E-HL9 88Wh Li-ion V-mount battery E463496
1 IDX Endura E-HL9 88Wh Li-ion V-mount battery E464104
1 IDX Endura E-HL9 88Wh Li-ion V-mount battery F471230
1 IDX VL-4S Simultaneous 4-channel charger K2-04551
1 IEC mains lead
O’Connor 2575D Heavy Duty Head 1 O’Connor 2575D Heavy duty fluid head with Moy fitting C1234-800117
1 O’Connor Moy tie-down nut
1 O’Connor 150mm bowl adaptor
1 O’Connor 150mm bowl tie-down nut
1 O’Connor Euro-plate with quick release wedge (2x screws)
1 O’Connor 2-stage adjustable pan bar
ARRI Ultra Prime Lenses 1 ARRI Ultra Prime 16 T1.9/16mm lens with front and rear caps 8942134
1 ARRI Ultra Prime 24 T1.9/24mm lens with front and rear caps 8941749
1 ARRI Ultra Prime 32 T1.9/32mm lens with front and rear caps 8941743
1 ARRI Ultra Prime 50 T1.9/50mm lens with front and rear caps 8941440
1 ARRI Ultra Prime 85 T1.9/85mm lens with front and rear caps 8941335
1 ARRI Ultra Prime 135 T1.9/135mm lens with front and rear caps 8937071
ARRI LMB-5 Lightweight Matte Box #1 1 ARRI LMB-5 Lightweight two stage matte box
2 ARRI Filter frames 4×5.650
1 ARRI Light shield
4 ARRI Clamp adaptors (80, 95, 110, 114mm)
Ronford-Baker Short Legs #1 1 Ronford-Baker Heavy duty short legs
1 Ronford-Baker Adjustable ground spreader
3 Ronford-Baker Rubber ground spike caps
1 Ronford-Baker Heavy duty Tall legs
1 Ronford-Baker Adjustable ground spreader
3 Ronford-Baker Rubber ground spike caps
Optimo 24-290mm 1 Angeniuex 12x 24-290mm PL Zoom lense with front and back caps, flight case & zoom bar 1588791
2 19mm Long bars
1 LS9 Lens support bracket. 2 parts
1 Bridge plate

Kit stolen from freelance cameraman – Belgium

It seems that freelance cameramen are particularly vulnerable to theft.  The web form submission below is a very good example of the methods crooks use to steal kit, and destroy the livelihoods of freelancers.

If you have any information regarding this theft, or are offered any of the kit for sale, please contact Xhire, the Belgian police, or Sven Joukes directly.

Your Name         : Sven Joukes

Your organisation : Freelance Cameraman

Telephone         : +32 478 275 014

E-mail Address   : sven@superacht.be

Name(s) of fraudulent hirer.: Shawn Lacy shawnlacy@universalmusicgroup.com Name of fraudulent organisation, address and website if available: Don’t know, but probably not Universal Music Group.

List the main items of kit stolen.: Sony PMW-F5 s/n 0120126 OLED VF for F5 s/n 0102095 ZEISS CP.2 LENSES PL 15MM s/n 50001397 25MM s/n 50007026 35MM s/n 50034633 50MM s/n 50027835 85MM s/n 50030029 Canon 5D mkIII body Canon EF 16-35 mkII Canon EF 24-70

How was the fraud carried out? Please supply as much detail as possible.: Belgian prod. was contacted by British ‘prod’ to provide gear for shoot in Brussels. Upon arrival they get the gear, create chaos re: location etc., then take off with the gear

Police details and crime number: Brussels Police: +32 2 2797979 Crime nr: BR.20.LL.107306/2014 (date 24/09/2014

Update: Thanks to this listing, the stolen lenses were recovered, having been found for sale in London on Gumtree. A member of the public who realised the price they were selling for was a little too good to be true, took a note of one of the serial numbers and googled it.

 

Theft of lenses from Lites Belgium

ATTENTION

 

 following equipment was not returned to LITES after rental :

 

Camera Arri Alexa plus serial nr 4485

 

Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses : with following serial numbers :

UP 20mm : 8942677

UP 28mm : 8937213

UP 40mm : 8942226

UP 65mm : 8940668

UP 100mm: 8940130

UP 135mm: 8942168

 

This was the man who rented the equipment :

 

Benjamin Heiwegen

 

His company :

BIMM Lifestyle Holding BV

Schrijverspark 112 / 02

3901Veenendaal

Dutch valid VAT nr : NL818464859B01 

The following individuals and vehicle were involved:

If you are offered any of the items for sale, or encounter any of the individuals depicted here, please contact Lites Belgium through their website:  http://lites.be , and email us.

Click on the thumbnails below to view full sized image.

lites3lites2lites1lites4

Alex Levi and Maurice Duchamp: Theft from freelance cameraman

The following theft was reported by the Xhire web form.

Submission Time   : 26-Mar-14 03:08

Your Name         : Simon Shen

Your organisation : Freelance Cameraman based in London

Telephone         : 07447922235

E-mail Address    : simonshen87@hotmail.com

Name(s) of fraudulent hirer.: Alex Levi from Maurice Dumchamp

Name of fraudulent organisation, address and website if available: Alex Levi on behave of Maurice Duchamp production of Maurice News Production

 Fake insurance policy registered under ‘Zurich’ Group

 They posted an online ad on production base and FTP

List the main items of kit stolen.: Canon 5D mark 2 with Full rig Zeiss ZF Prime lens set Cineroid EVF Formatt Matt box Lee ND Filter set Vinten Avocet 90 tripod & fluid head Sachtler Tripod DA100 Short Leg all the accessories etc.

How was the fraud carried out?  Please supply as much detail as possible.: A fake production company called Maurice Duchamp hired my camera equipment kit.They provided a fake insurance document.

I delivered the equipment to a man named Alex Levi outside the Mayfair hotel in London.

They’ve now disappeared with my kit.

Police details and crime number: Action Fraud Ref: NFRC140300574788 Police Ref:CHS10958 Any other information you wish to share with the broadcast hire community: Alex Levi, male, late 20s or eariler 30s, approx 6′ height, facial bread, mediterranean or turkish, barely speak english, worn a black jumper with baseball cap.

His personal number which is permanently switched off:  07823918873

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Additional details received by email:

Thank you very much for your reply, I’m really appreciate for the help in regarding to my case. Just to giving you more information about the case.

So basically, The Maurice Duchamp production company advertised a production assistant job on production base websites (the ads are still live).

They obviously found what they were looking for because their new production assistant contacted me about hiring my equipment. I was sent an insurance document and told to meet a man named Alex Levi outside the Mayfair hotel. And they were willing to pay me 200 pound for the first install payment as deposit. (300 quid in total for two days rental in the weekend.)

I delivered the equipment to him, received a cash payment and thought everything was fine. The following day I had a worried call from the production assistant who told me his phone was switched off. She sensed it was a scam so we done some digging. The insurance document is fake and we tried to call and contact Maurice Duchamp, but unfortunately there weren’t any response at all, also Alex Levi has disappeared.

I now realise they have scammed people before, but they always leave a trail. They paid for job ads on two websites and hired a room in the Mayfair hotel which they cancelled later.

It’s very unfortunate, this disaster happened on me, I reported to London metropolitan police right immediately, but it’s really sad, that the police didn’t do any helps at all, they kept me running around, waited and kicking me back and forth in between different department. In the end, they referred my case to a private company called ‘Action Fraud’ which also seems careless about my lost. There weren’t any execution or future progress from them at all since my last report. As there are many ways to track and chase them, through CCTV tape, their Mini Cab registration plate, hotel reservation etc, but no action preceded so far by ‘Action Fraud’. So right now I feel hopeless.

It’s a shame, that the total value of my kit is approx around 12000 pound, and I didn’t have any serial numbers for my camera and lens, as the lenses have all been rehoused and converted into cine-mode, However I’ve learnt my lesson in a hard way… I really hope the authorities could carry out some real action to resolve this case, as this ‘Maurice Duchamp’ guy still activating out there.

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