Spate of Car Embezzlement Cases: Weak Oversight and Fake Identities
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Behind the lucrative car rental business lies gaps that are increasingly exploited by criminals.
Car embezzlement cases that frequently target rental operators are carried out in patterns that are almost identical.
Perpetrators who embezzle cars often disguise themselves as genuine renters, bringing complete identity documents and paying the rent as agreed.
On the other hand, the comparatively easy rental requirements from rental operators also increase the chances of mafia involvement in car embezzlement.
When the vehicle has moved into the hands of criminals, it is often difficult for rental operators to reclaim it.
“There are already a lot of mafia, and as rental operators, we want to eradicate the mafias that cause distress. Our business starts from zero, and they mafia just take and sell our cars; it must be stamped out,” said one rental operator, Adi Supriyatna (40), while being interviewed in North Jakarta, on Thursday (5 March 2026).
Adi claims that three times his rental cars almost disappeared after being duped by clients who turned out to be vehicle‑embezement mafias.
To reclaim them would require effort and he had to pay tens of millions of rupiah.
Criminologist Haniva Hasna said, from a criminology perspective, the prevalence of car rental embezzlement cases demonstrates a convergence between a high‑value target (the car) and a weak supervisory system.
“Vehicles are expensive assets and easy to move, making them very attractive to criminals,” Haniva said when contacted by Kompas.com on Thursday.
When the tenant verification process is not strict and supervision is limited, the rental business becomes an easy target for embezzlement crime.
First pattern, perpetrators usually rent cars using the identity documents of others to reassure rental operators.
Second, after the vehicle is successfully rented, the mafia typically moves it immediately to another party.
Third, not only moved, the rented vehicle is sold or pledged by the perpetrators to a third party (a fence).
However, it can also be dismantled to be sold in parts by the perpetrators themselves.
Fourth, after successfully gaining profits from selling or pawning the rented car, the perpetrators will disappear before the rental period ends.
“This pattern shows that in many cases, the crime was planned from the outset of the rental,” Haniva explained.
In carrying out their actions, perpetrators of car embezzlement often employ various modus operandi to mislead rental operators.
First, perpetrators frequently rent cars using the identity of another person so that their criminal acts are not easily detected.