Man from East Java Scammed by Counterfeit Money Syndicate After Meeting Woman on MiChat

Police have uncovered a case of counterfeit money circulation in Batu City, East Java. The case came to light after a man named Suyono reported being a victim of a counterfeit money scam by a woman he met through the MiChat app.

The incident began when Suyono got acquainted with a woman with the initials RAN via MiChat in February 2026. Through communication on MiChat, Suyono and RAN frequently met at a losmen in Batu City. After several meetings, RAN began her scheme by asking Suyono for help with transfers.

“The suspect initially asked the victim to transfer Rp2.4 million to a BRI account under the pretext of paying for an arisan. The peak came in early March 2026, when the suspect asked the victim to make several transfers to a DANA account totalling Rp7 million,” said the Head of Criminal Investigation at Batu Police Resort, AKP Joko Suprianto, as reported by detikJatim on Tuesday (31/3/2026).

“The suspect asked the victim to transfer to the DANA account and promised to repay with cash. However, after the victim returned home, he realised that the cash given by the suspect consisted of fake Rp100,000 notes,” he added.

Following this, the victim reported the case to the police. From the report, the police conducted an investigation and successfully apprehended five residents of Malang Regency, comprising two women and three men.

The five individuals are RAN from Turen, SGP from Dampit, LVB from Gondanglegi, DNI from Pagelaran, and MKH from Turen. Of the five apprehended, two have been named as suspects, while the other three are currently witnesses.