Police investigate alleged fraud involving TikTok content offers

Police are investigating an alleged fraud against children from a cycling community in the Kebon Melati area of Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, carried out by offering to create perfume advertisement content for the TikTok application.

“Regarding a public report of fraud committed by an unknown person against children from a cycling community,” said Tanah Abang Metropolitan Police Chief AKBP Dhimas Prasetyo in a written statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

Based on the report received by police, the perpetrator, an unidentified individual, approached the children from the cycling community and offered them the opportunity to create perfume advertisement content that would reportedly be aired on TikTok.

The perpetrator then promised a reward of Rp100,000 to each child who participated in making the content.

However, during the incident, the perpetrator allegedly fled with two mobile phones belonging to the children.

Dhimas said officers subsequently checked CCTV footage at locations believed to be connected to the incident.

Dhimas stated that members of the Tanah Abang Metropolitan Police Criminal Investigation Unit had checked surveillance cameras at a restaurant on Jalan Plaju Number 5, Kebon Melati Urban Village, Tanah Abang District, Central Jakarta, to search for clues about the perpetrator and the chronology of events.

However, based on an examination together with the restaurant’s information technology staff, the CCTV footage could not yet be accessed due to a system malfunction and a password issue.

“It turned out there was a problem with the password and it could not be opened,” said the police chief.

Dhimas explained that police then contacted one of the victims, named Amar, to file a police report in order to follow up on the alleged fraud.

Officers also plan to retrieve CCTV footage from the MRT area to trace the perpetrator’s movements after leaving the scene.

Police have also prepared a model A police report as part of the handling process and further investigation into the alleged criminal act.

“To date, police are still investigating the identity of the perpetrator and the complete chronology of the incident,” he said.

Previously, a video circulated widely on social media showing a group of cyclists in the BNI City area of Sudirman, Central Jakarta, allegedly becoming victims of the theft of three mobile phones by several youths who invited them to create perfume promotional content with the lure of money.

In the incident on Sunday morning (6/9), the victims were also given ATM cards believed to be fake to withdraw money, but the attempt was unsuccessful.