Ed_David

Took a lot of strength to do that, Ebrahim. Proud of you. Agreed - let's all move on . Tomorrow AM should be the tracking numbers. I'll tell your friends it was all a mistake once I see that they get their rangefinder and money returned. Hopefully after all is said, and done, Andrew can find mercy in his heart and delete this thread so when someone types in your name into google, this doesn't pop up. p.s. Those are some really beautiful images! The film you are making looks gorgeous too. What was the camera/lens? Also the homemade LED light is pretty brilliant.

I still dont understand why you guys dont just freeze your cc and call it a day. Or raise some money from friends. Are you too embarrassed to admit what happened? Or maybe you really are fools and paid in cash or with a wire transfer from your bank even though even when you do this your bank warns you. You come on this site to warn us then think a scam artist is going to give you the rangefinder to split? And yet hasnt done it yet and yet clearly is in dental school and has very excellent english skills Probably a better writer than me. Hes easily middle class or higher. Hes playing the superman theory from crime and punishment and hes laughing at you and everyone else. Hes a troll. The only way to stop a troll is to embarass him in the real world. Im not going to. If you guys dont have the balls to do this...you are even more acting like fools. I completely agree now w es's gloating. Now do you want to man up? Or just think the world is a lovely safe place w wonderful people who always tell the truth and give you their word? Listen i got involved because i dont like when people f with me. And i look out for my tribe. His dad has passed away. His godfather is real. You can easily find out more on your own or with a friend who knows arabic or a journalist. If you dont go to work now its over. Youll never get to his brother or sister or godfather. Already interest is waning. In 5 more days our short attention spans will be gone.

I am 98% positive ES friends on his instagram page are real. Here is me interacting with them - and they don't take very kindly to me, which is further proof they are his real, true friends here's their tags: @dr_omarmohammed@tarekfouda @fashellove @ahmedmansi@ahmedelhabibi @abdullahashraf0@elemam94 @ghalyyy93 @eman_saadawi@gellesh the kid is not a real scammer. And he still has up his IG account and has it public: https://www.instagram.com/ebrahimsaadawi/ go on there and find who likes his stuff, his followers, and even his professor, Dr. Sheta. If everyone went on there and started contacting them - they would know it's more than just me. Right now they think I'm crazy - but if it was 10, 15 people - they would probably start getting concerned. I think this is the only path to actually truly get the money back from ES. You can call the cops, you can send private dectectives - that may work. But I know this will truly work. Again, he's not your standard scam artist. He's a real person - yea a lier, but a real person with a heart. I can really say this time, I'm out. And I need to be out. I wasted basically probably 15 hours on this. I don't have time for this any more. There is more to life than some stupid kid in Egypt. And this point, he deserves more and more to have the real world do an intervention on this kid. Not this dorky army I'm part of - online camera dslr nerd site.

Just tell the truth, Ebrahim, and they'll go away. It's just ghosts haunting you.

The minimum wage in Egypt - well for a housekeeper is $150 a month. A kid in college probably makes around $50 a month. http://sites.miis.edu/educationinegypt/files/2013/05/CIEsalaryEgypt.pdf So the "scam artist" made at least $750, which is 5 months salary for say, someone working at McDonalds in Egypt. That's a lot of money for a scam. And it's possibly more - if there are other victims who haven't come forward yet. In America, monthly minimum wage is $1100. Ten times as much. So with this logic (and correct me if I'm wrong) - the scam artist made about $7,500, based on standard of living in Egypt (rough estimate) That's a lot of money. $7.5k, especially if the scam artist was young and poor. And let's say there are two more victims - that's easily a cool $10,000 USD. For a young kid , damn that's a ton of money. If you had that opportunity, you were really good at English, and smart and tech savy, would you feel the temptation? Especially if you tell yourself that you are ripping off greedy rich Americans who should know better? I can see the motive. Especially if I was young and needing money. My final question is: 1. The SLR magic rangefinder? It was from SLR Magic or someone says that wasn't true?

No way, dawg. You are looking at Mr. Senior with rose-colored eyes. I mean, "June 1: “I’ll get the 1DC now. Made my decision for me when I am setting on my couch! Thank you ALOT. You're a very valuable addition to the forum. “"

Damn it - people are bored? I gave a stunning twist! I beat the confession out of him like a corrupt cop in the Wire. Here comes in Mr. Good cop - Anyway, okay, Ebrahim - I believe you - you were scammed. Now can we just get to some points I would like to address. This will clear everything up. If you explain this, it will really help your case. 1. Why is the police note "written in kids handwriting" as a reader of Egyptian said? 2. Why is your handwriting from your twitter account so closely matched to the writing that the "hacker" did with the slr rangefinder? Especially the pressure on the "u" and the "m" - that's not a typical way of writing those letters. 3. Can you point us to websites that talk about your father or grandfather, either as the head of Sa'Ad Media or of the Radiology Center he has? Or newspaper articles, or anything? What are the names of the films he made? 4. Do you have photos or video of your father/grandfather? 5. Can you point to any websites that you posted that your Canon IDC camera was stolen? 6. Can you send us the receipt for your purchase of the Canon 1DC? 7. Why is the cost of importing your 1DC $20,000 USD, when the import tax rate in Egypt is 4%? 8. Can you show us BTS of your 1DC? Or your dad or grandpa's 1DC? That's all I have for now. If you answer these, I am sure more people will believe you. You have my word that I will not reach out to any more friends/professors/family members of yours - under one condition - you answer each of the above questions. Let me know your thoughts.

iight tools are the film standard: http://www.lighttools.com/content/lighttools/soft-eggcrates-basic-eggcrates-do.html call or email them - they make them in tons of shapes and sizes - I've used them on set on 4x4 frames, 6' and 8' - and on rifa lights and other soft boxes. eggcrates are extremely useful at controlling spill

I think Ebrahim, just borrow some money. Sell some things. Start sending over what you have. Use paypal - it works out of Egypt. Transfer as a gift. I think get your friends involved. Pool some money. Sell some books or something. And yes, sell your camera. I have a Canon T2i if you want it. I never use it. It's not much but it does raw. I hope all of us can forgive you in our heart for what you have done. You staying here, starting a dialogue is a brave and important step. That should be worth something. What you did was horrible, but I was thinking about it on the drive today - I may have done something like that myself if I was broke and young. I don't think I would have, but the thought probably would have crossed my mind, especially if I was broke. Anyway, I'm proud of you staying on this to deal with this. And I hope others will forgive, especially after you return their money.

Dude, really? Andrew will find out that the IP is indeed all the same. ES will then say that's cause it was something in his company. The IP will reveal nothing LETS REVIEW THE CLUES 1. Okay first the handwriting matches between the screenshots from the "hacker" and his twitter account. 2. A person who knows Egyptian says the police report is forged. 3. His telephone number doesn't work. 4. His stolen IDC serial number is off by a digit 5. His friends on instagram when got contacted by him, then contacted him, and then he asked me to tell them it's all okay. So they don't take him at his word? 6. There is zero record of his dad as a filmmaker 6b. There is no record in arabic on google of his claims of "Nuclear Radiology Center, Lecture in Middle east's highest regarded universities, and I run Al Saadawi Media" 7. He says he's an expert in radiology - yet shows no knowledge of this. 8. he will not do a video chat with Sernior. 9. Senior went from getting his PHD 20 years ago to 30 years ago 10. Senior first responded, then disappeared. 11. Senior makes a lot of money - he'll pay for it all. but now he won't - and Jr is broke and can't seem to pay it 12. that initial facebook post saying he scammed them, then he says he did it for his sister's operation (this can be refuted because I corrupted the evidence, but at least I came forward) 13. the lack of record of his dad's media company 14. The constant switching of saying what cameras he owns. 15. the scam artist had "extensive knowledge of the rangefinder and showed me this picture, so it's definitely him. He also picked up the cash using his own identity." according to Thomas F - you are right though - we should have waited for the Western union webcam that doesn't exist and the IP theory and all his messages that I'm sure he scrubbed unless Andrew keeps a backlog of. Then justice would have been served and I'm sure the guys will get their money back. No man, this is one of those things you need to move fast and kick up a lot of dirt - BEFORE he has the time to react. I work with criminals a lot - These guys usually are good and fast. Closing up holes - granted ES didn't do this. He made this pretty damn easy. But usually before you know it, they are out. No traces, nothing. He was sloppy, but still, also lets imagine the longer you wait, the less likely he is to have the money. the more time he has, the more time he can think. he can stall. I'm not saying this guy is a criminal mastermind, but he still ripped off three people and thought about it for a while. he thought about the legal ramifications with his background in law. About blaming someone in his office. He had all of that ready to go. He was ready for this day, and he was good at it. Like a good little lawyer that he was. He did the "I'm a respected member on here and you're ruining my holiday" bit. That card gets played a lot. He did a cost/benefit analysis of doing this scam. And getting away with it. And suprisingly it seemed to have worked pretty well. Who would believe a person with 3 posts? We did. thank god. I knew something was fishy with this guy - maybe I didn't - but the whole thing seemed weird. Anyway who cares - I'm just trying to not go to jail.

They are right - extortion is illegal too. And I did promise to ruin his career. But I did that off the bat. That's more a threat. Not extortion - there was no deal made. He probably wouldn't have confessed per Andrew and the IP address thing I am pretty sure - he already had his excuse. But believe me, he messaged me literally 10 minutes after I contacted his friends on instagram. And still, really, the chance of him sending the slr viewfinder is probably zero. And refunding everyone is zero. The only way to really get it back is to continue to reach out to his friends and family. That really did sting him. But I'm not. I went too far. And I gave him my word I'm not going to reach out anymore to his friends.

No it is pretty stupid of me. I was getting all walter white. If I did as he said, kept my nose out of it, it would have been better. I did kind of threaten him. I mean, not with violence, but with ruining his career if he didn't refund the scam ones money. But with that said, I'm talking to a person who stole $800 from three people. I'm pissed as hell. I'm trying to use my leverage to help them. It was in the heat of the moment. I should have thought about what I was doing. But again, I am doing this to a criminal. This isn't some innocent person. This is a person who has ripped off three people. I'm not condoning what I did, but I understand why I threatened to ruin his career if he didn't refund their money. It's basically catching a robber and shaking them to the ground, but without the threat of violence. And in the end, another forum member as you may remember did threaten violence. And ES also threatened violence. I really reached out at ES at one point to try to get him to confess so the other guy didn't send his friends from Cairo and beat the crap out of him or kill him. I don't know what goes down in Egypt, but I assume people have been murdered there over less money. Who knows. Anyway I waver between sympathy for ES and complete anger. I act before I think. I am an idiot.

I just reviewed my private message exchange with ES. I was being a dick. I suck. I'm out.

Thank god. I was sweating my ass off Im bad at storytelling ironically Need to get back to dp work.

I didnt go back. The deal we made was afterwards.Its tough to explain on this android. I revised what i wrote to make it make more sense. Let me know what you think.

Its not torture To clarify I message his friends. Tell them hes in trouble for scamming 1k usd from buyers. He then says make it stop to me. What do i want? I say a confession. He confesses. Then he asks me To lie to his friends and tell them he didnt scam people. After i told them he was in trouble for scamming people and pointed them to this thread. I told him ok. Saying i would lie to them was a lie. I didnt tell them that it was another person because i know and pretty everyone else here knows hes a pathological liar who created a fake dad or grandpa. He wanted me to lie to his friends and say everything was okay. Its not. And the only ones who will help this guy is his real life friends. Not us. We are nothing to him. Just objects to steal from and endlessly lie to. And still honestly f him for ripping off three peole who honestly didnt know better. He also hurt the reputation of this site. Which is a shame. Cause i think this is a great site. And to that you say...so do i. Well im an idiot but i never scammed anyone or lied about myself. I use my real name. I post. I try to share. Again im sorry. I went too far. But man reading the third scam victim made me turn into that guy from la confidential played by that australian guy russell crowe

What i did was based on emotion and acting quickly. But I still think there is no other way but to play tough with a criminal, and especially get the real world involved.

You are right I didnt see it that way at the time. I just saw it as a way to intimidate a criminal and to make sure a pathological liar did something he promised to do. I.E. I didn't trust him that he would refund the buyers. I honestly started it cause i thought one of the posters was going to beat him up But yea my anger at him for scamming got the best of me And this is it. Sorry eoshd.

Youre right Damn what a day Now im off to jail I never quit while im ahead! See you guys in 10 years. 8 years w good behavior But honestly - read the next messages in thread - just trying to keep myself out of jail!

I told him - either refund the guys in their entirety or I'm going to get my doc filmmaker friend on him. He said he didn't care. Then after this morning a third scammed victim came forward, I got really upset. I reached out to his friends on ig and told them he was in trouble for scamming 1k usd from people on this site. And linked to this thread. He told me to stop and what it would take for me to stop. I told him to confess. He did. Then he said now can you stop harassing my friends and tell them it was someone else. And I said I would. But I didn't. I stopped harassing his friends. But I didn't tell them it was someone else. I don't feel right doing that. That would be extortion over me. Earlier I said "I humiliated him" - to further clarify - this means I told them to check this thread and that he was in trouble for scamming three people. I didn't say anything more than that. Just sent them the link to all of this.

It got the confession. He had a choice. I gave him the ultimatum two days before this morning when I went to work. After I heard a third person got scammed, I had enough. My conscious would not allow this kid to keep going on without real world repercussions occuring. I contacted his friends. He got wind of it, contacted me, told me what can he do to make it stop? I said, confess. He did confess. Then later he asked me to tell his friends it was a mistake and it was someone else. I said, okay. But I didn't. Couldn't do it.

How so? Do you expect a pathological liar to stop lying completely? He admitted wrongdoing. He admitted basically all of it was a scam, even though he's not at a point where he can say this completely and in his own words. I don't know if I would be able too if I was caught in a criminal scam. But I'm not him. He promises to refund these guys. What is the truth in this? Or do you mean I'm drawing too many conclusions? What else can my overactive brain do? The cops won't get him - it's Chinatown, Jake. I mean Egypt. And a guy who scammed a bunch of users obviously doesn't care about us. He'll say whatever it takes to get out of trouble so it doesn't affect his real life. This is fantasy crashing with reality. We just happened to have a front-row seat to it. And now, yea, let's give him a break.

His presence on EOSHD is over. The money will get returned somehow - through him or the community. But let's give the kid some space to get back on his feet. Our collective anger will fade. There was some small justice today.

I agree with what everyone is saying - ES is a pathological liar who scammed at least three people. But he's also a human being and he's young. This type of stuff can lead to an incredible amount of pain to this person. I know we can't directly see him or hear him - and that's the danger of social media shaming. So out of respect for this kid whose life is completely in limbo, please let's give him space. If he does not refund the people he scammed, it will be horrible. But these people can freeze the charges. And we can come together, each of us here donates $5 - we can raise the money back. I don't want to do that, but we can. For now, let's not let there be a remote chance that we do lead to ES's suicide, no matter how improbably that would be.

ZACK IS BACK!!!!!! Also cool to see how a global community came together to deal with this intense issue. Literally from every part of the world!