Viral HKM Worker Buys Rp200 Thousand Gamis and Gets Fined Rp9 Million, Customs Officer Speaks Up

Dream - A Hong Kong migrant worker (TKW) went viral on social media because she was fined Rp9 million when she bought a Rp200 thousand gamis.

In a video uploaded on Instagram by @kabarnegri.official, the TKW named Yuni spoke with someone who claimed to be a customs officer. Yuni sounded upset.

“I don't care who it is. I'm confused now, how can a Rp200 thousand gamis have a Rp9 million fine,” said Yuni.

In written confirmation, Head of Public Relations Section of Customs, Sudiro, said that what happened to Yuni was a scam that used the name of Customs, which has often occurred.

“This incident is a scam that uses the name of Customs. This modus operandi has often occurred,” said Sudiro.

Sudiro said that Customs does not accept transfers to personal accounts. He urged the public to be cautious if they encounter incidents like Yuni's. The public can confirm first by contacting the Bravo Customs Call Centre at 1500225.

“Customs never accepts transfers to personal accounts,” he said.

Regarding scams using the name of Customs, the criminal act of fraud uses or impersonates Customs to carry out their actions with the intention of making the victims believe more and facilitating the perpetrator's intimidation, extortion, and coercion of the victims.

This is because there is a stigma in society regarding law enforcement agencies imprisoning, punishing, and so on. Therefore, the use of the name of Customs will greatly affect the psychology of the victims.

“Of course, these scammers don't immediately demand payment. They usually come with various modus operandi, especially to establish closeness with the victims first,” as quoted from the material on being cautious of scams using the name of customs.

Characteristics of Scams

Unreasonable Charges

Unusual charges for online transactions (taxes charged are unreasonable compared to the value of the goods)

Using Personal Phone Numbers

Contacting using personal phone numbers (mostly using profile pictures in uniforms and using business accounts)

Intimidating the Victim

Intimidating the victim with threats of imprisonment and fines if they do not comply with the perpetrator's demands within a short payment deadline (e.g. 1-2 hours), so that the victim does not have time to think logically

Requesting payment to personal accounts

Requesting a certain amount of payment to be directed to personal accounts (both bank accounts and e-wallets). It should be noted that import duties and taxes use billing codes as payment references

Occurs frequently on weekends and before national holidays

The public should also be more vigilant, especially on weekends and before national holidays. This is because scams are rampant during these times when government offices and banks are closed, making it difficult for victims to confirm.

For those who have been deceived and become victims of scams, they should report it to the police and remember to request a police report. Then, report the perpetrator's bank account to request its blocking based on the police report.

Source: Liputan6.com