A UK rental company hired to a regular client who were doing a last minute job for a client they believed to be Suzuki.

This is the info from the client:

We were contacted by someone called Jay who said he was from Suzuki. He had a real email address from suzuki-international.com, and a real-looking linkedin.

They were looking for a last minute interview film because another company had dropped out.

We had several meetings over the last couple of days, signed a contract and turned up to their specified hired location. They had specific kit requirements (four FX6s, nice lights, good lenses, lots of radio mics). They went as far as specifying frame rate, s-log etc. Everything was rushed but we didn’t sense that there was any issue with any of the demands. The payment terms were a little odd but we’ve had worse  – they said that they only pay after the work has been done, but would not expect us to deliver any footage before then.

The shoot was to happen in an airbnb in Gloucestershire. It was meant to be for a well-known person who was part of F1. All along the people from Suzuki were very insistent that they needed an NDA from all of our crew, and that we weren’t allowed to be in the room with the talent or the new tech they’d be talking about until we’d signed the NDA.

We got there and set up as instructed – they’d given us detailed instructions and even left marks for the cameras on the floor. Then they rang to say that they were running late and we got a call to say that to sign the NDA we’d have to go to meet them off site while the talent and the HMU arrived and got ready without us.

At this point our producer had the common sense to say that they wouldn’t leave the kit and that they could wait in the van for the NDA to come to us.  Within minutes we had an email saying the shoot was called off. The phone’s now dead. We’ve since called Suzuki and found that they’d never heard of the people we’d been talking to. It looks like it was all a ruse to get us to leave cameras in a remote location so they could nick them?

 

Note from Xhire – suzuki-international.com is not in fact a real Suzuki domain so Jay didn’t have a real Suzuki email address – it was registered on 23rd April 2025 with Godaddy and has been set to forward to the real Suzuki website. It’s obviously not uncommon for large corporations to have a myriad of domains for different purposes but it’s always worth checking the whois info for a domain.

Domain Name: suzuki-international.com

Registry Domain ID: 2977654947_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN

Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com

Registrar URL: https://www.godaddy.com

Updated Date: 2025-04-23T13:45:28Z

Creation Date: 2025-04-23T13:45:28Z

Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2026-04-23T13:45:28Z

Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC 

This was a clever and well planned crime which was thankfully averted due to the producer having their wits about them and not bowing to pressure.

Provision have had a set of Cooke S4i lenses stolen while on a hire.

They are in a silver flight case and were stolen from a studio in Ealing.

The set is as follows:

• 21mm – SN 4021-1054
• 27mm – SN 4027-1085
• 32mm – SN 4032-1155
• 40mm – SN 4040-1132
• 65mm – SN 4065-1092
• 100mm – SN 4100-1210

If you have any information about the location of these lenses, please contact www.provisionequipment.tv

Jamie Hawkesworth have had their van full of kit stolen in a recent robbery.

There is a reward of £1000 for information that leads to its recovery. If you have any information about the following please email studio at jamie hawkesworth co uk

1 ARRICAM LT 35mm Camera – w/ Batteries, 3x 400ft Shoulder Mags S/N – 8082 and 2157

1 ARRI 400′ LT Shoulder Magazine
Camera Equipment

ZMP18 – ZEISS MASTER PRIME T1.3 LENS SET
1 ZMP12 – 12MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – 8953347
1 ZMP14 – 14MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – 8956934
1 ZMP25 – 25MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – 8949146
1 ZMP35 – 35MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – ZMP35-8948778
1 ZMP40 – 40MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – 8957789
1 ZMP50 – 50MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – 8955392
1 ZMP75 – 75MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – ZMP75-8950473
1 ZMP100 – 100MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – 8951842
1 ZMP150 – 150MM T1.3 ZEISS MASTER PRIME – 8951842

MACRO
1 LM100 – 100MM T2.8 MACRO LEITZ – 140663
DIOPTERS
1 C1TDP – 138mm FULL COVER DIOPTER 1/2-3 – C1TDP-838

SIGMA FF LENSES
SFF14 – 14MM – 53129112
SFF20 – 20MM – 54256096
SFF24 – 24MM – 55654983
SFF28 – 28MM – 55165582
SFF35 – 35MM – 54195990
SFF50 – 50MM – 55676141

1 Ronford Baker Heavy Duty Tall & Short Legs (Large Tripod)

1 O’Connor 2575D Head w/ Eyepiece Leveller (Large Tripod Head)

Nougie Films in Brighton rented the following items to Charles Mensah (Charle Navis Kwame Mensah) and it hasn’t been returned.

There are also reports that somebody using this name is still contacting other owner operators to try and hire again.

Kit List

CAMERAS

1 Sony FX94005289

1 Shape Extension Handle

1 Vocas USBP-15 MKII Baseplate

1 Hawk-Woods FX9 V-Lok adapter

LENSES

1 Sony 24mm GM 1915879

1 Sony 35mm GM 1879086

1 Sony 50mm GM 1865707

1 Sony 85mm GM 1891603

FILTERS

1 Sennheiser MKE 600

1 Rycote Softie Pistol Grip

1 Hawk-Woods 2-Channel V-Lock Fast Charger VA18146  g

2 Hawkwoods 150Wh Batteries 223973, 2231031

1 Sony XQD Card Reader N/A China 100g

4 Sony120GB XQD Cards £670 105H1KRC1J, 112H1KRC1J, 10FH1KRC1J, 107H1KRC1J

1 Portabrace FS7 Carry Case

1 Lowepro BP 450 Backpack

If you have any information please contact Luke at www.nougie.com

Sony FX6 SN 4010548 was stolen, along with a variety of lenses and cards from a house in Tottenham.

If you have any information regarding this, please contact Leo on

( l dot s dot fawkes at google mail dot com ) or use the contact form on this site.

REC – a rental house in Rome have had a large set of Arri Signature Primes stolen by fraudulent hire.

The set consists of:

15mm T1.8    27959
18mm T1.8    31934
21mm T1.8    88798
25mm T1.8    44025
35mm T1.8    28803
40mm T1.8    95411
58mm T1.8    30952
75mm T1.8    87807
95mm T1.8    71628
125mm T1.8  45364

The hire was booked in the name of a legitimate company – Film and Broadcast Sound limited but the owner of the company has had his ID stolen.

Here is the report from REC

We’ve been contacted for one day shooting rental and as always we have proceeded. These people wrote under the name of FILM & BROADCAST SOUND LIMITED Production based in UK. The certificate of insurance came from one of the most important English insurance companies called GALLAGHER
ENTERTAINMENT. We have received personal passports of the people involved but all was a fake. Equipment was rent on Friday 23rd and had to return this morning Monday 26th. Later on Monday we called Gallagher entertainment to ask if the certificate we have was ok but they confirmed that it was not. They confirmed that these people have stolen identity to the companies above mentioned and they are renting equipment around the world without returning it. The insurance company received more calls for the same issue.

If you have any information please email this site or else contact REC direct at:

PH. +39.(0)6.4390467/43599480

www.rec-roma.com

Crew on a shoot were robbed of equipment on the 28th January which included  the following items:

C300 MK2 Body (PL Mount) – SN : 963120300107

Zeiss Super Speed III – 50mm T1.3 – SN : 8813034

SmallHD 502 Monitor – SN : C7AS212510079

Vocas MB 430 Mattebox SN : NA

¼ Black Pro Mist PV Filter : NA

If any of these items are seen, please contact Fred at Genesis Hire

www.genesishire.com

In late December Emmanuel Sonowo (7ucky 7n) or 7ucky 7vn  on Spotify   or @7vn.vii on Instagram,  stole Cooke Lenses, an FX6 kit & Sachtler Flowtech 75MM from Moonshine. He used a fake identity under the name Chane Gallo & Tina Williams of Alessio Visions.

We have so far recovered the Cooke Lenses, however, our FX6 Kit & Sachtler Flowtech 75mm FSB 8 Tripod are yet to be returned.

He has committed similar crimes before .

He is apparently using  the social media tag name 7ucky 7n.

Items not yet recovered are:

Sony FX6 Serial Number:

The items below were stolen from the 24/7 Warehouse on the night of 24th August.

If you see any of these please contact 24 / 7 or use the contact form on this page to email this site.

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Stage Sound Services had the following items stolen while on hire to a client.

DPA 4011 Capsule, S/N 3135228, SSS Barcode 056361
DPA 4011 Capsule, S/N 3163571, SSS Barcode 059803
DPA 4015 Capsule, S/N 3143031, SSS Barcode 056392
DPA MMP-C compact mic preamp, S/N FHW09, SSS Barcode 032360
DPA MMP-C compact mic preamp, S/N DAN77, SSS Barcode 016778
DPA MMP-C compact mic preamp, S/N HBD32, SSS Barcode 044390

Shure switched SM58 cardioid microphone, SSS Barcode 024628
Shure switched SM58 cardioid microphone, SSS Barcode 063781
Shure switched SM58 cardioid microphone, SSS Barcode 065407

Allen & Heath ME-1 Personal Mixer, S/N ME1X-725207, SSS Barcode 034610

All microphones have engraved SSS Barcode Numbers.

If you come across any of these, please contact James at www.stagesoundservices.co.uk

Items stolen via burglary from CVP on 22nd of July 2023:

If you have any information, please contact the site to let us know.

These photos are of kit that has been dumped at Sangates Guildford Road in Chertsey between Selesian and Willy Perkins schools – this is not that far from Shepperton Studios.

Does anybody recognise these from any thefts?

These are the serial numbers of a stolen Canon CN-E set. They were taken the weekend of 20/21st May from Shurgard Self Storage in Forest Hill, South London.

They are mint and in a dedicated 7 lens Pelican Case. The insert has been labelled with the focal lengths etc.  Please contact this site or the Police if you are offered or hear of anyone selling them.

Other kit including DJI Transmission setup, BMPCC 6k Pro and Monitors taken also.

Lens serial numbers:
Canon CN-E 14mm s/n 92813411
Canon CN-E 20mm s/n 94510548
Canon CN-E 24mm s/n 94512002
Canon CN-E 35mm s/n 94512695
Canon CN-E 50mm s/n 94512739
Canon CN-E 85mm s/n 94512211
Canon CN-E 135mm s/n 94511152

If you get offered any of this equipment or have any information that will be helpful in getting them returned, please get in touch.

Stolen Items:

The Kit Room have had kit stolen from a client’s car while out on hire at around 10pm on the 29th June 2022.

Please  be on the lookout for any of the following:

If seen please contact www.thekitroom.co.uk

Media Lease have had some of their kit stolen from a client’s car.

Please be on the look out for any of the following items;

Sony FS-7 camera                      0033979

Red Pro Lens 17-50mm           ZM1750008

Red Pro Lens 50-150mm

Carl Zeiss 35mm zf f1.4           15826841

Carl Zeiss 85mm zf f1.4           15779087

Tilta camera rig                        SN TBS04101484

Vocas Top Handle                    03501455

Shape camera arm

Metabones pl mount adapter      1321014413

Low Pro camera bag

camera cards x2

Rode filmmaker kit miss x2

Sennheiser MKH 416 mic

1 Astra 1×1 panellite

If you are offered any of these items, please contact Paul at Media Lease.

www.medialease.com

A drama truck was stolen in Manchester in the second week of December 2021.

Luckily the majority of expensive items were rigged on location so the thieves ended up with a load of flight cases, lots of miscellaneous accessories from various kits and some complete items.
The truck was subsequently recovered with some items still on it but the following items are missing: