T

he police have warned of a sophisticated online scam targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) after receiving reports on two cases that inflicted losses of nearly Rp 500 million (US$51,380).

Jakarta Police cybercrime unit head Adj. Sr. Comr. Audie Latuheru said on Wednesday that the scammers had modern and professional-looking websites and were equipped with seemingly professional documents listing products and their specifications as well as counterfeit international business contracts that reassured victims that it was safe to order products and remit payments.

'In mid-April, we uncovered two business scams on renting out heavy equipment and shipping that caused losses of nearly half a billion rupiah,' he said.

The criminals, he said, divided tasks between themselves. The mastermind, he said, gathered business product data to relay to victims, while others acted as website, email or advertisement creators, while the latter group also opened bank accounts or made calls to the victims.

'We have arrested the executors of the heavy equipment renting scam, known by initials of WS and SL, and also the executors of the shipping business scam, F [alias TW], M, J, F [BK] and T,' Audie said, adding that three masterminds of the two cases were still at large.

The police arrested the suspects of the heavy equipment scam at their work premises in Penggilingan Baru, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, and confiscated a computer, a printer, a wireless terminal, an Internet modem, a flash disk, a television and cellular phones as evidence. Meanwhile, the five suspects of the shipping business scam were arrested at the house of one of the suspects on Jl. Mabes Hankam, Cipayung, East Jakarta. The police seized bank remittance forms, import tax sheets, stationery with counterfeit customs and excise letterhead, ID cards, printouts of emails of import documents and cellular phones.

Audie said the suspects still used conventional modus operandi by placing ads on a website and contacted potential targets by phone to offer products or services. After explaining to the potential targets, the perpetrators would ask them to transfer money a number of times, explaining that they were experiencing delivery problems. 'The victims mostly believed what the scammers said and transferred money without thoroughly checking the location of the company or the IP address of the website,' he said, adding one of the victims became suspicious and checked the so-called company's location after transferring Rp 200 million (US$20,555). 'JP/tam