In the second year of the pandemic, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) noted that 28 bogus investment companies had been taken down not so long after they had risen to popularity. Money-game apps like TikTok Cash and Snack Video, among many others, quickly became viral for the easy-money possibilities they seemed to offer. Both have now been blocked and cannot be accessed. TikTok Cash is not affiliated with the popular app TikTok.

Internet personality Cindy Lazar spoke publicly about her loss and filed a fraud report. In total, she lost Rp 25.5 million from TikTok Cash. "I think someone has to speak up, especially after I learned the platform had a lot of other victims," Cindy told The Jakarta Post.

The scheme requires its users to finish seemingly simple tasks, such as watching lots of TikTok videos and pressing the “like” and “follow” button. To be eligible to do so and earn some money out of it, users need to inject cash in advance, from Rp 89,000 to Rp 50 million. In return, users are promised Rp 600,000 to Rp 37 million in a month, depending on the package they chose initially.

Cindy's filed report has resulted in a formal investigation by the police. Representing 60 other TikTok Cash victims, Cindy hopes the authorities can prevent even more victims. "Aside from wishing to get our money back, we hope the authorities give TikTok Cash a deserving penalty," Cindy told the Post.

An advertisement put out by TikTok Cash, promoting a prize of Rp 1,4 billion and a membership totalling ver 500 thousand people (TikTokCash/Courtesy of TikTokCash)

Relying on the same get-rich-quick scheme, Sel (not his real name), a 23-year-old student from Pekanbaru, tried similar tasks of watching videos in return for cash. Sel said he was “selective” in the kind of money-game apps he used and that he did make money off of some.

"I’ve tried some platforms with this type of scheme out of curiosity, since this January, particularly Snack Video and Helo. Before the Communications and Information Ministry took down Snack Video, I had obtained Rp 300,000 as a result of watching some videos," Sel told the Post.

Sel is well aware of the suspicious nature of these platforms. Asked about doubts, he answered, "It is understandable, knowing that there is no legal permit on these platforms. I have prepared, so I always choose the platform that requires no investment." Sel just wanted to make the most out of his downtime.

Matthew Pradipta, a fresh graduate facing increasingly fewer job opportunities, went the same route. As Matthew told the Post, "I had no income during the pandemic and I have been exposed to some success stories coming from my peers."

After investing Rp 4 million, Matthew spent his days watching random ads. For every one-minute video he watched on a seemingly foreign website called Midjobs, Matthew made 25 US cents. After a few weeks, he gained “some real money”, so he decided to inject a sizeable amount of money which he declines to mention.

"I should have stopped and enjoyed the little money that I gained. But my greed took over and I thought I could get more and more money," said Matthew. After two months of constantly watching ads, one day, he woke up and found that the website could not be accessed.

"That was the biggest amount of money that I have lost to date, but there is no use in regretting it. After all, I had some adrenaline-packed fun with my friends at 4 a.m. twice a week. That was when we could withdraw our money."

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Wally (not his real name),  a 41-year-old father of two from Tangerang, had also tried his hand at various similar apps. After his sister received a motorcycle as a reward from one of the money-game apps, he became convinced that “it was real.” Unbeknownst to his family, Wally began investing to watch the ads, before eventually realizing that it was a scheme after the company was shut down by the authorities. In the end, he doesn’t remember how much he lost, but his last investment on the app was Rp 40 million. Wally says that like a casino, “they let you win the smaller prizes first, so you’re hopeful for the big one. But it never comes.”

The surge in such schemes, which have become increasingly popular during the pandemic, reflects the greed, yes, but also, desperation of many people. This has not been countered by swift handling by the authorities.

"One of the reasons why I was convinced was because the platform was still online. I thought it must have been legal, but it's not. I hope the Communications and Information Ministry will be more sensitive toward this kind of fraud," Cindy Lazar could only hope.