Police: Online Fraud Cases Rise In Padang

Head of the Padang Police Criminal Investigation Unit Kompol Dedy Adriansyah Putera. ANTARA/FathulAbdi

Padang City Police, West Sumatra (West Sumatra), said that fraud cases in the network (online) have been rife in local cities since early 2024. Head of the Padang Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Kompol Deddy Adriansyah Putera, asked the public to be careful when making buying and selling transactions. "There are rampant cases of online fraud in Padang, on average in one week there are residents who report to the Padang Police because they are victims," he said in Padang, Antara, Tuesday, April 23. He said each victim suffered material losses with varying money values, ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of rupiah. "The number of losses suffered by victims varies, depending on the goods that are the object of buying and selling transactions. Some vehicles, electronic goods, and household properties," he explained. Deddy revealed that the modus operandi that has often been used by perpetrators in recent times is to become the third person in a buying and selling transaction. "When the perpetrator saw a sales advertisement on a digital platform, the perpetrator contacted the seller, and he then also looked for a potential buyer by telephone," he explained. After that, he continued, the perpetrators will guide the seller with buyers to make buying and selling transactions. "When the buyer will make a payment, the perpetrator will direct the buyer to transfer the money to his account, not to the account of the owner of the goods," he explained. He said that in that incident, the victim finally lost money that had been transferred, and not infrequently due to the perpetrator's actions, there was a dispute between the buyer and the seller. Therefore, Dedy invites residents to be careful when transacting buying and selling online or using digital platforms. The police asked the public to really confirm the address of the recipient of the money before transferring it to avoid losses.

Dedy did not deny that to uncover cases of online fraud, his party was constrained because it was difficult to track down the identity and whereabouts of the perpetrators.