Small Business Owner in Bekasi Left Disappointed After Paying for Endorsement Content That Never Aired
A chicken noodle and meatball shop owner in Karangbahagia District, Bekasi Regency, Anggi Pamungkas (26), has alleged he fell victim to suspected fraud by an Instagram influencer with the initials PS.
A promotional partnership valued at 1 million rupiah, agreed upon for his business’s grand opening, was reportedly not fulfilled, and the funds promised to be returned have yet to be received.
The case came to light after Anggi shared his experience via his personal Threads account. The post went viral and sparked widespread discussion online.
“Initially, I was confused about what to do. Eventually, my wife and I created a Threads account. I didn’t expect it to get this much attention,” said Anggi when met by Kompas.com at his shop on Saturday, 28 February 2026.
“The influencer also has most of their followers from this area. So I wanted people to know there’s a new chicken noodle and meatball shop here,” said Anggi.
In initial communication, PS reportedly offered a promotion rate of 15 million rupiah. Anggi said he was shocked and briefly considered cancelling the partnership.
“Since I had already reached out, I just made small talk. I asked, ‘Is there a price for small businesses?’” said Anggi.
According to Anggi, the rate was subsequently reduced to 5 million rupiah, then to 3 million rupiah. However, he stated that his budget was only 1 million rupiah.
“I already told them my budget was 1 million rupiah, anything more we couldn’t afford,” he explained.
“They said, ‘Alright, let’s help with 1 million rupiah on TikTok’. So we ended up agreeing at the 1 million rupiah price,” he said.
“They said they could do it. They said it would be on TikTok content,” said Anggi.
Anggi noted that the initial process went smoothly, from the rate card request, price agreement, payment, to the influencer’s visit to his shop. However, the promotional content that was promised was not posted as agreed. The night after the visit, Anggi instead saw different content posted on the influencer’s account.