Police Uncover ATM Skimming Syndicate in East Jakarta with Seven Prior Operations

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Police have uncovered a syndicate involved in theft using the ATM jamming method, which has operated seven times in various areas, including East Jakarta (Jaktim). “From the initial interrogation results, these perpetrators using the ATM jamming method have carried out their actions seven times,” said the Head of Criminal Investigation at the East Jakarta Metro Police Resort, AKBP Bayu Kurniawan, during a press conference at the East Jakarta Metro Police Resort headquarters on Wednesday. Bayu stated that, based on initial examinations, the perpetrators are not newcomers. The four arrested suspects are known to be specialists in crime. One of them is even a recidivist in a similar case who previously served time in Magelang, Central Java. “One of the perpetrators is also a recidivist in the same case, so they can be said to be ATM jamming specialists,” Bayu said. Furthermore, Bayu mentioned that the perpetrators’ actions were not limited to the East Jakarta area. For the crime scenes (TKP), police have so far confirmed one incident in the Cipayung area, East Jakarta, which formed the basis for uncovering this case. Meanwhile, several other actions took place outside that area. “For the TKP in East Jakarta, currently only the one in Cipayung. However, from the examination results, they also operated in several other areas, such as Cilegon and various regions in Central Java,” Bayu explained. In uncovering this case, the four perpetrators were apprehended in the Jatisampurna area, Bekasi. They were arrested for a theft that occurred on Thursday (19/3) around 07:30 WIB at an ATM machine in a modern retail outlet in the Cipayung area. The four perpetrators are initialled HF, A, AT, and D. Perpetrator HF was known to be responsible for installing the jamming device on the ATM machine using a modified toothpick. Meanwhile, perpetrator A acted as the one who spied and memorised the victim’s PIN while pretending to help. Then, perpetrator AT was tasked with distracting the victim by suggesting they report to the nearest bank when the ATM card got stuck in the machine. Once the victim left the location, perpetrator D then retrieved the ATM card to subsequently drain the victim’s account. Police are currently continuing to develop the case to uncover possible other networks and trace additional locations targeted by the perpetrators.