TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Citibank customer Natalia Santi, who was scammed for Rp50mn by an unknown man over the phone, will report her case to the Jakarta Metro Police today, May 9. Natalia, a former journalist for Tempo, plan to visit the police station once she has collected evidence in the form of a copy of her checking.

"I have reported the case to the Jatinegara sector police on Wednesday, May 8. They advised me to go to the Metro Jaya Police," Natalie told Tempo yesterday evening, May 9.

At 13:00 Wednesday, Natalia received a phone call from an unknown man who claimed that he was from Telkomsel. The man said that Natalia could exchange 3,200 of her Telkomsel points to be free of her credit card billing for three months.

One of the requirements for the points redeem was to verify her credit card number. The man, Natalia said, convincingly asked her to state her accounts number and one-time password (OTP), saying it would prevent double withdrawals.

Natalia realized she was scammed after receiving SMS texts notifying purchases. She called Citibank and discovered her accounts had been breached, and the perpetrator spent Rp50 million. There was a Rp25mn transfer from Ready Credit to the scammer's account.

Her credit card was also used to make 10 Blibli.com purchases—each for Rp1mn—and eight Elevania worth Rp995,300 each. Natalia suspects that the transaction was done easily since the scammer changed her registered phone numbers in those apps to his; allowing for verification.

Francisca Christy Rosana

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