Phony firm lures victim with prize

JAKARTA: A lawyer saved around Rp 25 million of his nephew's money to make a tax payment to a information technology company which had announced that his nephew had won a Toyota Avanza in a lottery. After verification the company turned out to be bogus.

To convince the would be victim PT Prima Media Sarana Informatika falsified the signatures of city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono and Jakarta tax agency head Daud Suhendar.

"We have checked the address of the company in Global Tower Building on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, but we found no such company. Now, we have discovered that both signatures are fake," said Manurung, the lawyer, after meeting with Tjiptono at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

Meanwhile, Tjiptono warned people not to be duped into believing similar phony lottery prizes as many fictitious companies are netting victims throughout the capital.

"We will investigate the case, and will arrest the individuals behind the phony company," he said. --JP