DDHK. ORG – Fraud in the name Customs currently booming. Various styles were found, such as through online shops to the online item auction mode.
Not long ago, one of the victims named Sandi revealed his story. He was deceived after participating in an online auction.
It started when he took part in a laptop auction on Instagram but was then blackmailed person acting on behalf of a Customs officer.
“This incident was in 2021, a year ago. At first I followed the auction of goods on Instagram. At that time the item being auctioned was a laptop with a base price of Rp. 1 million. I casually joined in by putting a price of Rp. 1,5 million. And it turns out that Alhamdulillah, we were selected to get a laptop," he said at the Customs and Excise Head Office, East Jakarta, as reported Seconds, Thursday (22/12/2022).
After that he was contacted by the account that organized the auction to pay for the goods according to the agreement, amounting to IDR 1,5 million. However, one week later, Sandi was contacted by an unknown number claiming to be from Soekarno Hatta Customs and Excise. This is where the blackmail begins.
"This person told him from the Soekarno Hatta Customs Office. He explained that the items purchased were illegal, there were no documents and they were confiscated," he said.
He began to issue threats from the perpetrators. Sandi was threatened that he would be approached by the police and military. This threat makes the victim panic.
"Then came the threats. He said, my father bought illegal goods, the goods were confiscated. If you don't take care of it, you will come to the father's place from the police and military. Goods are not sent to homes, but to places of business. Panic because at the place of business there are employees coming from the village, afraid of being intimidated," he said.
He keeps getting phone calls from scammers. The perpetrator included a letter with a blank from Customs and Excise so that Sandi believed that the perpetrator was actually a Customs officer. Letters sent complete with fees to be paid.
"First he asked for Rp. 3.3 million. Before I paid, I had time to contact the laptop seller, why did this happen. It's second hand, not new and not from abroad, from Lampung if I'm not mistaken," he said.
However, the laptop seller convinced Sandi to pay, with the promise that he would be replaced when the goods arrived. Sandi complied and transferred IDR 3 million to the perpetrator.
After a few days, the fraudsters again contacted Sandi and extorted him.
"How long will it take to ask for more, Rp. 7 million, that's all. I thought why keep asking for money. I thought I had a friend at the Ministry of Finance, he said that fix is fraud," he explained.
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This was also experienced by Eno, who became a victim of fraud after buying cheap shoes on Instagram. From the price of Rp. 600 for shoes, Eno had to spend up to millions of rupiah because they were blackmailed.
"Dm week told me to transfer goods priced at IDR 600. After a while on the phone, thunk, these shoes are illegal, you have to pay Rp. 2,5 million. If you don't want to pay, the Customs officer comes to your office. Because of panic I transfer.
Then, a few days later, the victim was called again, and asked to make another transfer of Rp. 5 million. The perpetrator sent a kind of VAT and PPH letter that resembled that of Customs.
Fraud in the name of Customs is clearly detrimental. In addition to the goods that were not obtained, victims were also extorted with a large nominal amount. [DDHK News]
