Buying a car online or ‘winning’ one as a prize can be risky business in Indonesia, nevertheless even more risky can be renting a hire car to a purported celebrity.

A failed singer exploited his minimal celebrity status by renting dozens of cars as well as then pawning them for quick cash.

The perpetrator was Jajang R. Haris (28), a might-be celebrity who was a contestant on Kontes Dangdut Indonesia (KDI), a singing competition show of which first aired on the TPI network as well as can be at of which point broadcast by MNCTV.

Jajang appeared on the first season of KDI in 2004 as well as claimed to have reached the finals. nevertheless his singing career did not take off. Instead, he ended up working as an extra on soap operas as well as in films – a job of which does not pay well for local actors in Indonesia.

Six months ago, Jajang decided to supplement his income by scamming rental car dealers in Depok as well as Bogor, south of Jakarta. He as well as his two accomplices, Didi Ahmadi as well as Rizki, might rent cars as well as then pawn them for as little as Rp.5 million each.

Jajang’s modus operandi was to approach rental owners as well as explain of which he as well as his crew needed a couple of cars to travel to shooting sessions for movies as well as TV shows. He might show them YouTube clips of his performances, as well as some social media photos of his dubious celebrity status, as if of which might make him more trustworthy. He was often able to rent cars without providing any form of collateral or guarantee.

The gang ended up stealing 43 rental cars, including two belonging to a member of the Army’s Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).

Depok Police began investigating Jajang after one rental owner, Farabi Anggriawan (30), on May 5 complained the singer had failed to return two cars which had been rented for Rp.3 million for 10 days.

Jajang as well as Didi were arrested last week, nevertheless Rizki was still on the run. Police said most of the stolen cars were Toyota Avanzas as well as Daihatsu Xenias. As of last week, police had managed to recover 22 of the vehicles.

On May 25, Jajang appeared at a police press conference. Wearing a balaclava as well as handcuffs, he tried to appear contrite, offering an apology to all victims as well as “anyone who feels aggrieved” by his actions. He said he pawned the cars to repay his debts as well as cover his living expenses. Police suspect the crooks may have been supporting a drug habit as well as will test them for narcotics.

One of the rental owners was Sergeant Major Ponidi Wardoyo (51) of Kostrad. He said Jajang had rented an Avanza as well as a Toyota Etios by him in April. The rental money was initially paid for a few days, nevertheless the cars were not returned by the due date.

Ponidi visited the address Jajang had given him – a house in Leuwiliang, a smaller town near Bogor – nevertheless no one was there.

The military man was grateful of which police subsequently recovered his cars. He said he might quit your vehicle rental business – as well as sell his 5 cars – because the item was too stressful.

Police said victims are welcome to reclaim their cars, provided can show ownership as well as registration documents, as well as proof of identity.

Jajang as well as Didi could face up to 5 years in jail for theft as well as fraud.

‘Just For Fun’

Be wary of online market places offering cars for prices of which seem too not bad to be true. They may be stolen or non-existent.

Regha Aprilian (25), a resident of the East Java capital of Surabaya, created a fake profile for himself on a vehicle sales website. He then copied as well as pasted an existing advert for a car, nevertheless replaced the contact number with his own number.

Posing as the original vendor’s brother, he offered your vehicle for Rp.65 million as well as soon had a buyer. The man paid a deposit of Rp.2 million in cash as well as Rp.9 million via bank transfer, with the remainder to be paid in instalments on delivery.

The vehicle in question had originally – as well as legitimately – been offered for sale by Etopia Bintarti, a hospital worker. Upon discovering the advert had been hijacked, Etopia asked to meet Regha at the hospital to discuss business. When the conman arrived, he was arrested by police.

Regha said he often shopped online as well as thought the item might be fun to see if he could swindle people. “the item was originally just for fun definitely. the item was only one time,” he claimed.

Free Car, Not

Another common swindle involves placing fake prize coupons for cars as well as motorcycles inside branded food as well as beverage products, such as instant noodles, processed snacks, sugar-filled energy drinks as well as instant coffee.

The authentic-looking coupons contain the logo of a big-name company, such as Bimoli, Indofood, Wings Food, Tora Bika as well as many others. The coupons declare the recipient has won a free vehicle, which can be claimed by calling a telephone number. Upon calling the number, the “winner” will be asked to pay for vehicle registration costs, ownership papers, a processing fee as well as taxes, which can amount by Rp.5 million to Rp.20 million.

Should you ever find such a prize coupon as well as you think the item may be genuine, then call the company on its official customer service number as well as find out whether there definitely can be a giveaway of cars or motorbikes. You could also consider passing the coupon on to police.

Last November, police in Semarang, Central Java, busted a syndicate of which had been producing fake prize coupons of which had been inserted into packaged foods. In addition to fake company logos, the coupons also featured a police stamp, a notary’s stamp as well as a government stamp.

Police said the group, which had seven members, earned about Rp.300 million to Rp.600 million per month by people who thought they had won “free” vehicles.