Credit-card scam at Lippo Bank branch

JAKARTA (JP): The Menteng, Central Jakarta, branch of Lippo Bank has suffered about Rp 300 million in losses in a credit-card scam, police said yesterday.

Addresses and other documents of 50 credit card holders, who have been delinquent in payment since last year, turned out to be fake, an officer who asked for anonymity said.

Police have determined all the holders shared a common reference on their applications for the bank's credit cards.

"When Lippo officers tried to collect payments from the credit-card holders, the addresses were bogus or the people had moved away.

"We're currently searching for a suspect, who was responsible for giving recommendations for those 50 credit card users," he said.

A police report said there were no payments from the users on their bills in the past seven months.

"Three months after that, Lippo officers tried to track down the owners of the credit cards but failed to find any," he said.

A Lippo Bank employees, Riza Chrisanto, filed a police report earlier this month.

Hardi, manager of Lippo Bank in Menteng, refused to discuss the reported scam when contacted by the media.

"We have turned this case over to the police. So I think we have to wait for the results of the police investigation," he said. (edt)