Sleman Resident Defrauded in Brompton Bicycle Deal, Loses Retirement Savings of IDR 279 Million
A retired civil servant from Triharjo, Sleman, Eko Suhargono (62), has become a victim of fraud involving an online Brompton bicycle transaction scheme. In this case, Eko’s retirement funds were completely depleted, resulting in losses of IDR 279.2 million.
The case is now recorded in the Report Receipt Notice (STPL) Number LP/B/149/II/2026/SPKT/Polresta Sleman/Polda DIY dated 24 February 2026. AKP Salamun, Public Relations Officer of Sleman Police, confirmed that the report has been received and is currently being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department.
“Correct, we received the report Tuesday afternoon and it is currently under investigation,” said Salamun when contacted by journalists on Thursday (26/2/2026).
The incident began when Eko was contacted by someone claiming to be an old acquaintance via WhatsApp. Eko stated he was initially unsuspicious because the perpetrator’s identity appeared highly convincing.
“I believed them because they claimed to be an old friend and the photo looked convincing,” said Eko in a separate interview.
The perpetrator offered a business scheme involving buying and selling Brompton folding bicycles and asked the victim to help negotiate prices with prospective buyers. However, as communication progressed, Eko was instead asked to transfer various sums of money under different technical pretexts.
“Initially I was only asked to help negotiate bicycle sales, but gradually I was asked to transfer money for various reasons,” he explained.
Over time, the victim transferred money totalling IDR 279.2 million to several different accounts. These funds included IDR 115 million transferred to a BPD DIY account under the name Sugianto, and IDR 40 million to a BRI account under the name Ricky Juniardi for invoice costs.
The victim continued to send IDR 79.2 million to a BRI account under the name Rusman Siregar for VAT payment, whilst the remaining IDR 50 million was transferred to another account for additional administrative fees.
Eko only realised he had been defrauded after attempting to verify the perpetrator’s true identity. “After I sent the money, communication became difficult. I tried to confirm with several parties and discovered that the name being used belonged to someone who had been dead for a long time. That is when I realised this was fraud,” he disclosed.
Eko was deeply shaken as the hundreds of millions of rupiah lost represented his retirement savings. “That money was my retirement savings. My hope is that police can trace the accounts used and the perpetrator is prosecuted according to the law,” he concluded.