Theft by chicanery

Theft by chicanery

From Kompas

On Sept. 27 a woman shopping at the Permata Hijau supermarket was approached by an angular man. He was 175 centimeters tall, with straight black hair, dark skin, middle-sized ears, a rather sharp nose, an oval face and was clean shaven.

He introduced himself via his name card Awang Darmawan bin Bukkiah; it said he was from Brunei and he spoke Malay. He was accompanied by Gunawan Hariyanto from Kalimantan who also spoke in accented Malay. The latter acted as a would-be buyer. He was 165 cms tall, with straight black hair, brown skin, a big flat nose, a round face and was rather fat. A small man who did not introduce himself was also with them.

The first man gently tapped on the woman's shoulder and shook hands with her. In no time she complied with his wishes as if she had been hypnotized. He coaxed her into collecting her bank savings book from home and going to Bank BCA's Permata Hijau branch to withdraw Rp 21 million to pay for two fake Rolex watches. She only became aware of the hoax when the conmen fled by taxi.

People shopping or visiting their bank should take good care of themselves when encountering the types of people described above and should report them to security guards or the police.

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