Beware of deception by phone

Beware of deception by phone

From Media Indonesia

Through a Jakarta newspaper on March 15, I sought the address of a man from whom I could obtain information on the accreditation of Global 21 vocational high school (SMK), which had been seeking for about four years.

The next day, somebody going by the name of Soetiono Wibowo claimed over the phone that he came from the secretariat of higher education at the national education ministry and could give me the accreditation certificate for SMK Global 21, on condition that Rp 15 million be transferred to his bank account.

I responded by asking the caller to met me at a location of his choosing, but he insisted that the money be paid first, otherwise he would not help. As this was not a personal deal and SMK Global 21 has mostly students from poor families, I refused to pay the sum demanded.

With suspicion, I reported the case to the Jakarta vocational school office and was told to ignore the demand because it was a swindle attempt. Under current circumstances, unscrupulous people are trying to benefit from every opportunity, so beware of such tricks.

ROBERTO BANGUN Jakarta