Vryheid business’s identity stolen, used to commit cyber fraud

‘Egosurfing’ is the word used when you conduct a search for your own name online.

This glib way of referring to the practice was coined by digital guru, Sean Carton, in 1995, according to a post on wikiepdia.com, and came about at a time when most people searched for their own names purely for entertainment.

As a victim of identity theft however, Vryheid auto-electrician, Ryno Craus, has learned the genuine importance of Googling his name, and that of his business, regularly.

Ryno is the owner of R C Autolec and had never engaged in ‘egosurfing’ prior to becoming a victim of cyber-crime. He first became aware that something was amiss in February, when he received a phonecall from a man enquiring about generators, which he claimed he saw advertised online at insanely low prices.

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At the time, Eskom was conducting load-shedding and generators were in demand everywhere.

Ryno does sell generators from time to time, but never at the prices that the man mentioned on the phone. “My cost for a 30kva generator is about R190 000 and this generator was advertised online for R50 000,” explained Ryno.

Soon after that, people from all over the country began arriving at Ryno’s home, some with trailers, to collect generators that they had ‘bought’ online.

“During my conversation with the first person, he mentioned that he had seen the generators for sale on my business website. My business has never had a website, I only have a Facebook page, so that night I went online to have a look,” said Ryno.

“I saw a website for R C Autoelec,” Ryno explains, pointing out the addition of the letter ‘e’ to his business name.  “On the website, I saw all the generators advertised at ridiculous prices and, right at the bottom, I found my details, including my name, my company registration number and my home address.”

Somebody had created a website using Autoelec’s details and was using it as a means to scam people, through the sale of ‘fictitious’ sale of generators.

“In the ‘About Us’ section of the website, there was even a note that said, ‘We conduct our website with the same principles, with which we have conducted our business for the past ten years,’” said Ryno’s wife, Juané, pointing out the irony.

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Ryno opened a case at Vryheid SAPS the very next morning and made enquiries on how to take down the website. He was aware that some people had paid up to R200 000 into the bank account that the con artists had advertised on the website, and he hoped to save more people from falling for the scam.

“I found out that it is really difficult to get a website taken down, but I received a message the previous weekend that the website had finally been removed,” said Ryno.

Even though the website can no longer be accessed, Ryno still receives between 15 and 20 phonecalls every day from people who either paid for a generator, or from people making enquiries about purchasing cheap generators. Some ‘clients’ refuse to believe that the website was created by con artists, and that Ryno had nothing to do with it. Others have threatened Ryno and his family.

While it is easy to accuse those who bought into the online scam of consumer ignorance, it is clear that some ‘clients’ had made an attempt to verify if the company was legitimate or not before paying over the money.

So why did so many people fall for the scam?

Ryno was told by the owners of other auto-electrical companies in town, that they had received phonecalls from people enquiring about him and his business.

“When asked about R C Autolek and they mention the name Ryno, the other local businessmen said, ‘Off course I know him. He is a great guy,’” says Ryno, explaining why some people believed that their purchase was legitimate.

Theo Russouw, a Gauteng resident, who paid about R12 000 for a generator advertised on the R C Autoelec website, said he had used the company registration details he found online to conduct a company search. He was convinced that he was making a legitimate purchase when he found contact details, an address, proof that R C Autolec was registered, and that the company was tax compliant.

“With the load shedding, generators were sold out all over the place so I looked for one for my home, online. I got as much information as I could about the company, and called the number advertised to place an order. It was a Durban number. I spoke to a guy, who identified himself as David (David is Ryno’s middle name) and said I had to order online. After I placed an order and paid the money into the ABSA account that was advertised, the phone number I had called was no longer available. On the invoice that was sent to me, it said to follow a link to trace the status of my order, but when I clicked on the link, it threw out a message that the account had been suspended. That is when I smelled a rat,” said Mr Russouw.

Mr Russouw has since opened a case of fraud.

Community crime fighter and police reservist, Ken Taylor, is assisting Ryno to try and find the con artist who stole his business’s identity and used it to rob more than 40 people who have come forward.

“There are seven cases of fraud opened so far and more that are being opened. We believe that the person responsible may be operating from somewhere in Gauteng but we are still trying to find him. We fear that he is likely to start committing this type of fraud again under a different alias,” said Mr Taylor.

“I would really like for the guy to be caught. I would like for the people who were robbed to get their money back,” concluded Ryno.

“I feel helpless. I can’t do anything about what happened. What’s really bad is when people call who don’t believe that I wasn’t responsible. I spent 20 years building my name and my company’s name. My reputation is worth more than money, and it feels like what I have accomplished is all for nothing.”

“Everyone who knows us is as shocked as we are that this is possible. If you have nothing to hide and you are on the right side of the law, the truth will come out,” added Juané.

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